Remote Monitoring: Wireless Sensor Network Platform

The company's new gateway product offers a much-heralded feature in today's manufacturing environment: remote monitoring. The product integrates web and file servers to provide access via thin client devices, smartphones or mobile computers. It also features a RS233 serial port and dual Ethernet ports, 533 MHz processor and 2GB of onboard storage for embedded data-logging applications. The new measurement node offers resistance based measurements to the company's platform, including four analog input channels that can be configured on a per-channel basis for +/-10 V measurements or resistive measurements. Features the ability to choose from high-speed and high-resolution analog input modes on the device, and two bi-directional digital channels that can be configured on a per-channel basis for input, sinking and sourcing output. One option for the power source includes for AA batteries, with an operational lifetime up to 3 years. The second is an external power with a  5 to 30V supply that can also offer improved efficiency with energy harvesting applications. And the company's LabVIEW WSN Module Pioneer can add intelligence to the new measurement node, allowing it to extend battery life, increase analog and digital input performance, local control, analysis and data reduction, and interface with custom sensors. National Instrumentswww.ni.com/wsn