IoT Sensor

The client wanted a sensor that lived underground to record proprietary hydrology data, transmit it several times an hour to a cloud database and GUI.

The device:

  • Needed to be battery powered with a life of 5 years

  • Would be subject to outside ambient temperature variations

  • Could be submerged

  • The device would be subject to vehicle loads including trucks

  • As an infrastructure sensor, reliability was key

Challenges Faced

The environment was unforgiving and required 4 distinct engineering specialties:

  • Mechanical engineering to ensure:

    - Water did not enter the device

    -   Sensor operation was not compromised

    -   Robust protection of the antenna was provided

  • Electrical engineering to:

-   Collect the data

-   Transmit the data reliably every 15 minutes

-   Be efficient enough to operate for  years on two size D batteries

  • Component design and supply of:

-   The specialised sensor

-   Sophisticated communication modems

-   A robust, tuned antenna

  • Cloud database and GUI to:

-   Store historical data

-   Display data on demand

FlexWare Provided

To achieve delivery of the product we used three partners who have worked on many projects together:

  • Globex for the mechanical assembly and manufacture

  • FlexWare for the electronic design, firmware and cloud interface

  • Glyn for the specialised sensor, communication and antenna supply and sensor and antenna tuning

  • Cloud infrastructure and GUI was client managed

 The product was manufactured and is in production operating as expected, providing valuable data to the client and their customers.

No one of the partners could have managed this project alone.

The success and delivery was only possible with close daily collaboration between the different parties

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