Manage Serial Devices From Your Smartphone

Manage Serial Devices From Your Smartphone

Access Serial Devices on the Go With Tibbo WebUSB Boards

The RS232 and RS485 interfaces remain widely used in the industrial world because of their reliability, cost-effectiveness, and simplicity. However, servicing devices via a serial port usually entails lugging around a laptop. This means that even simple tasks, such as upgrading firmware, can be real chores — particularly if the device is in a remote or hard-to-reach place.

Tibbo’s WebUSB boards make it much easier and more convenient to work with RS232 and RS485 devices — especially in the field. The Web232 board features an integrated DB9M connector, while the Web485 is equipped with a four-pin terminal block. On the other end, a single USB Type-C port powers the board and implements a data link with your PC or Android device!

The boards are designed to work with WebUSB, an API developed by Google. WebUSB enables accessing USB devices from Chrome and a few other browsers. This allows for the creation of USB-enabled web apps. For example, several Tibbo Web Apps utilize WebUSB to configure our RS485 Modbus Sensors, also known as Bus Probes.

Watch the video below to see how incredibly straightforward working with serial devices can be with a WebUSB board. In it, we use a Web485 board and an Android smartphone to poll a Bus Probe #05 flood/leak sensor.

And what if you want to do more than just some routine maintenance or configuration? Do you need a full solution that can be deployed on a smartphone or tablet? In this case, you can build a customized web app! Tibbo supplies the WebSerial Library to simplify and speed up the development of web apps that use our WebUSB boards.

Order WebUSB Boards Now

Product Improvements, Updates, and Fixes

At Tibbo, we have always been committed to supporting all of our products and improving them whenever possible. From consulting on your projects to occasionally quashing bugs and adding new functionality, our ongoing mission is to supply you with the right products for your needs.

For example, in January, we published new firmware for our RS485 Modbus Sensors to add the ability to initialize and set their baudrate — a customer request. We’ve also further refined Bus Probe firmware to improve long-term reliability.

This month, we’ve released firmware for the WS1102 Wireless Programmable Serial Controller to fix a rare issue. Even though this bug doesn’t affect our Serial-over-IP Application, we’ve also updated it with the fix to ensure that customers reprogramming their WS1102 won’t encounter the bug.

On the software side, a new version of Tibbo IDE (TIDE) includes bug fixes and general improvements. Meanwhile, IO Ninja continues to receive regular updates and numerous new features.

Should you need help with any Tibbo product, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Your feedback enables us to continue providing industry-leading support.

Contact Tibbo Support

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