Retrieve Data From Sensors Wirelessly

By

(04/25/01, 09:45:13 AM EDT)

For those trying to retrieve data from sensors located in a wire unfriendly environment, Crossbow Technology's CrossNet wireless start-up kit connects four sensors to data acquisition systems or the Internet, allowing computers to gather data quickly and wirelessly from sensors in industrial and medical equipment, on vehicles, in buildings and factories, or on large structures.

The Crossbow wireless sensor start-up kit enables sensor technology in applications that are difficult to wire or subject to harsh physical conditions. Data can be moved instantly through the CrossNet system to data acquisition systems or the Internet for review by multiple, authorized users in remote locations.

The kit contains everything necessary to connect four sensors, including the CrossNet node that contains a wireless radio built around the new Bluetooth wireless standard, four self-identifying Smart I/O cables that connect to the node, a Bluetooth interface for a personal computer, and Crossbow's Windows-compatible software.

Using the Crossbow start-up kit requires three simple steps. First, the sensors are connected to the CrossNet node via Crossbow's Smart I/O cables, which provide self-identifying circuitry using the IEEE 1491 Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS). This enables the node to detect the type of sensor in use, its useable range, and the appropriate engineering units for reporting data. Second, the Bluetooth interface is connected to a personal computer via the USB port, at a distance of up to 10 meters. Finally, using Crossbow's free software, users can receive data and transmit commands to and from the sensors.

Crossbow's CrossNet wireless start-up kit is ideal for applications in the food, oil, gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, and factory automation markets, as well as overlay monitoring and ad hoc sensor solutions and control. The CrossNet architecture supports a broad range of sensor vendors and types, including temperature, pressure, motion, flow, gas, chemical, humidity, magnetic, light, and strain.

Crossbow's CrossNet wireless start-up kit is available now for $1,995 and can be ordered from a Crossbow representative or from the company's web site at www.xbow.com.