Intel is preparing to expand its NUC mini-PC product line into the rugged industrial PC and signage PC segments with the NUC 13 Rugged. These are characteried by an IP50 dust-resistant chassis that is fanless, and relies on an extruded aluminium body that doubles up as a heatsink. The PC has an operational ambient temperature range of 0°C to 50°C, making them fit for industrial PC (IPC), and digital signage use-cases.

The chassis has several features relevant to its specific form-factor that allow it to be deployed in the field over extended periods. The NUC 13 Rugged comes in three SoC options—Atom x7425E, x7211E, and N50, all three of which feature 6 W to 12 W TDP, and IPUs (infrastructure processing units). You also get a DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM slot, and connectivity that includes dual 2.5 GbE wired LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, 64 GB eMMC storage, an M.2-2280 NVMe slot, and provision for a 4G/5G MODEM. Intel is backing these with 3-year warranties, and assures market availability of 5 years (so companies planning large-scale deployments of these have a stable supply over that period).