A GPRS data logger. A device designed to log data to a remote computer via GPRS, the device connects to a range of sensor boards via a small connector which provides power and serial communications, the connected sensors send their data to the processor on the board. When the data buffer on the device is 2/3 full it opens a GPRS connection and sends the data to the remote PC.
A 32 channel LED sequencer. The device can directly drive up to 32 LEDs, it also has 2 relay outputs capable of switching mains voltages and 4 analogue inputs for use with various sensors, push buttons and other user inputs. The device has a USB port and a companion PC based APP which enables the user to program the device using a simple programming language, so the user can make any kind of light show they require and the light shows can be interactive because of the analogue inputs which can be used to trigger activity. One customer uses these to animate the marker bouys and light houses shown on Admiralty charts. One customer uses these to control the lighting in display cabinets.
A hydraulic motor driver. This device has a speed and direction control which enables the operator to control the speed and direction of a hydraulic motor. The speed control output of the device is a simple 4-20mA control signal and the direction control is just a pair of signals, one of which is positive for forward and the other is positive for reverse. The device includes a ramp function so that if you just switch between forward and reverse it doesn't just flip between the 2 as this could cause damage to the motor being controlled, so instead the speed signal is ramped down to zero, the direction is reversed and then the speed ramped back up to its current setting.
A high power DC motor driver. The device has the following features-
The device shown supports RS485 with either MODBus ASCII or MODBus RTU, however the communications and power are on a separate board enabling a range of communications interfaces and protocols to be supported. Several of these devices are being used to control a vending machine in a London shopping centre which dispenses high value items such as jewellery and watches.
We developed a number of wireless sensors which use the 433MHz license exempt ISM band for communication. The sensors implemented our own protocol which included meshing capability so sensors that were out of range of controllers could still communicate with the controllers because other sensors and controllers would relay their messages. We also developed a USB device which could be used as a controller and for monitoring the network.
A smart digital display. The device has a USB port and an accompanying PC based app which enables the device to be programmed using a simple programming language. The device has a number of analogue and digital inputs and also supports SPI, I2C and has a UART which enables it to connect to a wide range of sensors. The device can be used as a simple panel meter for measuring input voltages, current etc and it can also be used for counting and timing applications. Multiple device can be cascaded to increase the number of digits. Devices can be connected together to act as repeaters or to provide different information about a common input. The displays can be made with a range of display sizes and colours, for one customer we built several units with digits that were 100mm high!
We have developed a number of PIR sensors and PIR sensor based controllers. The device shown here has 3 outputs for controlling valves and 2 relay outputs for switching mains power. The device can be used in washrooms and bathrooms for controlling the water supply and electricity supply so water and electricity are not wasted when there's no-one using the facilities and to prevent water leaks from doing too much damage. The version shown here is mains powered, we also developed a version that can be powered from a mains adapter. The device can be used without its internal PIR sensor and wired to external PIR sensors or wired to other sensors such as float switches so it can be used to keep cellars dry. We also developed a number of other PIR sensors, some with wired interfaces and some with wireless interfaces.
An injector driver module is used with petrol and diesel engines. In these engines the fuel/air mix is injected into the engine in very precise quantities and at very precisely controlled times. The injection of the fuel/air mix is performed by an injector, one for each cylinder and the device shown here controls the power to each injector. The device shown here can control upto 8 injectors and can supply up to 220 volts at up to 20 amps. The device shown here is designed to control piezoelectric injectors but we also designed a version that controls electromagnetic injectors.
A device which connects to the mobile phone network and can send text messages to a set of pre-programmed numbers when one of its trigger inputs is operated.
The device has 4 contact closure inputs which can be connected to various things such as panic buttons, alarm outputs on burglar alarms or fire detectors. Each input can have its own unique message programmed and each input has up to 4 phone numbers available. for example you could connect an input to a float switch in the cellar and have it send "Cellar is flooding!" to 4 different family members when the float switch gets activated.
The device also has wired and wireless interfaces for connection to many of the other sensors and controllers that we have developed.