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Wireless Sensors Systems

deetergroup

Hello Everyone,

 

Its nice to be here.

 

Right, I have a question, and I would love to know your thoughts on it.

 

Wireless sensors systems, do you believe that companies are avoiding them because wireless has the label of being "unreliable" with all the general problems that people seem to have with laptops and mobile phone not always have a perfect signal?

 

Or do you think the problem is more security related, the fact that they would worry they are sending important information via the airwaves?

 

Lets face if, if you have a factory complex that covers a few square miles are you really going to want to play with structured cabling and, if you have industrial equipment, the worry of someone cutting a line between buildings? Lets face it, this sort of thing has happened and will continue to happen, and we would all dearly love to go wireless completely, think about it, just pick up your device and bingo you have what you want, or you can do what you want, all because it is there.

 

So, tell me, what do you think?

  • Hi William,


    Welcome to element14.

     

    I had a look at your blog. It looks a nice business

     

    I don't believe companies are avoiding wireless sensors. I know the main MCU manufacturers spend a lot of time and money promoting ultra-low-power controllers specifically for the remote sensor market. Many also offer custom 802.15 solutions. So I'd say the market is definitely there. My question would be, how much of the pain of wireless design do these solutions take away. Being pre-qualified for many of the EMC type testing etc is obviously an advantage, but how much work is left?

     

    Is this where your main business comes from, or do people want complete bespoke solutions?

     

    Of course data security is paramount, but breaches can happen with wired netwaors also http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/10/31/hacker_jailed_for_revenge_sewage/

     

    Ally

  • in reply to awinning

    Hello Ally,

     

    We do have a Wireless Sensor system, it works perfectly, it just seems that it is an impossible market to crack, companies just don't seem to be interested, yet the savings in structured cabling is huge.

     

    Even offering custom designs doesn't seem to be enough.

  • Welcome deetergroup,

     

    I sympasize with your problem.  I think the major wireless draw back is still the security issue and range of service.  If you have a solid encryption included with your wireless gear that might make it more attractive to companies.  Just the idea of information getting out under uncontrollable circumstances makes a lot of business leaders cringe.

    The other big issue is reliability and bandwidth.  I know a lot of companies will not use the IPAD because it uses too much of the bandwidth and did not reliably transfer emails in a reasonable time.

    If you want to get into the business environment, you need a solid product that is better than what they have, simple to use, low maintenance and is less expensive than what they currently use.  Also remember, change is THE hardest thing to get moving in an established company.  Plus you need a trusted insider who can vouch for the product and the company behind it.  Until you have a fan inside, you are just another company fishing for business.

     

    I wish you good luck.

     

    DAB

  • in reply to deetergroup

    in industrial environment you often need high reliability. If a high volume production line is dependent on sensor data it must be reliable. And wireless sensors in this area is simply impossible. There are always some issues.

    A structured wiring system is simple and low-tech. If someone cuts the cable you just get anyone with a basic qualification and can fix the problem in no time. If a wireless sensor stops working you need a professional with high-tech equipment to analyse. And that's time consuming. Most industrial production lines doesn't like to be stopped for hours. So the savings on cabling can be huge, but it still nothing compared to unplaned downtime.

     

    And also immunity to industrial environment noises is a big issue. It's fairly easy to disrupt wireless communication accidentally with some device which does not comply with EMI standards (fairly common). So you find yourself in a situation that you place a new device on the production line and all the sensors stops communicating.

     

    For me wireless is simply not an option for a mission critical sensor.

  • I also read your blog and have a bit of a background in this area. While I don't necassarily agree with all of what Miki says, I do agree with most, and reliability is rightfully pointed out. I also agree with DAB and perhaps what you need is a really good, long term 'reference' that you can point to as a working solution.

     

    One of the projects I worked on did (almost) the same thing you have but we installed it for free along side of a working current loop design and ran a backend system that allowed the entire company (actually it was a city) the ability to browse real time stat's. The benefit of our system was actually born out in a few months but it did take a few months! We re-coup'd our investment when they bought follow on systems.

     

    A couple of comments on your blog post; First, I'm not sure what the limiting factor 'in' your system is but the piece I helped on it was critical to have very good temperature performance. That product was being installed outside and needed at least -30C although our target was -40C. Tough with Radio's I know.

     

    Second, our packaging was important on the networking master side. It had to be DIN rail mountable and field installable - so terminal blocks were important to the client. I'm not sure I agree with the terminal blocks but it fit in with what the installers were already familiar with. Ultimately we went to 'M' type of connectors.

     

    Anyhow, that's my 0.02 worth. Hope that helps (in some small way)

  • William,

     

    At the ESC Chicago event, I noticed several companies employing wireless sensor. On top of that, they were also offering cloud based data collection. The people who use the sensors never even handle the data directly.

     

    Exepts from my twitter feed:

    17 wireless sensors from monnit.com. Data sent via internet or direct to pc. Cellular gateway coming in 1 month. http://yfrog.com/hsbpsmhbj

     

    Cloud based sensor data collection coming from monnit.com called imonnit in a few months. http://yfrog.com/gzjxfrjj

     

    Digi int cloud sensors only need an internet connection via land line or cell tower. Big wind farms, and mobile assets.

     

    Before iDigi cloud based wireless sensor networking from Digi int.  http://bit.ly/mhVktj http://lockerz.com/s/108612071

     

    Beta wireless vibration sensor from PCB Piezotronics. Cheapest I'm the industry. Not mesh, simple setup.  http://lockerz.com/s/108609906

     

    I like the trend, and hope to see more wireless sensor technology. It is only fitting to cut the cord, it's 2011.

     

    Cabe

  • in reply to Catwell

    Yep, that's kind like what we did. There was a lot more to it but seems like everything is going to the cloud!

  • Hi Willian,

     

    I think that companies are moving to the wireless world but not as fast as desired. As you've stated, the wireless connectivity is not as reliable as the wired one, and the time-to-market costs of new products is higher in comparison with the wired solutions.  However, today they are much wireless products than 10 years ago, and you can be sure that this growth will continue.  As well as the engineers are gaining more know-how in the wireless communications, products will be as reliable as the wired solutions.

     

    Best regards