Sensor Area Networks (SANs)

[pgchin]

Fabulous work David! When you get the bus stuff going, can you spec out cost then or is it still too premature for us to use? With a special needs dog I get real nervous leaving him and would love a temp and voltage check via iphone to put my mind at ease and enjoy my outings more! Thanks! FWIW I realize you were just messing around so if you decide not to productize I'd still be interested in alpha or beta because of the dog.

[davidbrady]

(07-06-2013 11:40)pgchin Wrote:  Fabulous work David! When you get the bus stuff going, can you spec out cost then or is it still too premature for us to use?

Thanks Pete,

Definitely. I'd be very happy to help you out with a setup. I need to install my Zigbee Gateway and my Digi Cellular router in my bus; hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I can get this done. Then I'll be able to buy a pay-as-you-go M2M data plan. This will allow us to get a feel for the kind of bandwidth required.

So you'd need:

1) Arduino Uno and a Temperature sensor (we can use this to monitor much more, including voltage): $25
2) XBee Pro Series 2 (digital radio): $40,
3) DiGi ConnectPort X2 (ZigBee Gateway): $100,
4) CDMA/GSM Cellular Router: $250 to $300, and a
5) Cellular Data Plan ((buy-as-you-go): $4 to $8 per month

So around $400 will do it. I emphasize that the data plan is a plan that would be useful for just our SAN application. The cellular router is a very capable device that you can hang an 802.11 wireless access point off of and use to connect all your onboard computers to the internet. If you'd like to do this then you'd buy an appropriate data plan.

I'd be thrilled to help you out Pete!

[pgchin]

(07-08-2013 17:43)davidmbrady Wrote:  

(07-06-2013 11:40)pgchin Wrote:  Fabulous work David! When you get the bus stuff going, can you spec out cost then or is it still too premature for us to use?

Thanks Pete,

Definitely. I'd be very happy to help you out with a setup. I need to install my Zigbee Gateway and my Digi Cellular router in my bus; hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I can get this done. Then I'll be able to buy a pay-as-you-go M2M data plan. This will allow us to get a feel for the kind of bandwidth required.

So you'd need:

1) Arduino Uno and a Temperature sensor (we can use this to monitor much more, including voltage): $25
2) XBee Pro Series 2 (digital radio): $40,
3) DiGi ConnectPort X2 (ZigBee Gateway): $100,
4) CDMA/GSM Cellular Router: $250 to $300, and a
5) Cellular Data Plan ((buy-as-you-go): $4 to $8 per month

So around $400 will do it. I emphasize that the data plan is a plan that would be useful for just our SAN application. The cellular router is a very capable device that you can hang an 802.11 wireless access point off of and use to connect all your onboard computers to the internet. If you'd like to do this then you'd buy an appropriate data plan.

I'd be thrilled to help you out Pete!

Many thanks David,
I'm on the road now and the Pomeranian has a serious heart defect and is extremely temperature sensitive..... this will give me the "freedom" of worry I want when we site see on the next walk about out west! Way too much to see and do! BTW take your time, I know how busy you are with the family and the kids being out of school take priority!!!!!! I can always implement, even on the road!

[davidbrady]

Will do Pete!

BTW, Every member here on WaGu can have their personal page to display critical information about your coach. For example, I quickly wrapped my Swimming Pool Temp page into our standard WanderlodgeGurus header and footer. Each of you can have a page like this to display any information you'd like to about the functioning and performance of your bus. I'm more than happy to set anyone up!

[Arcticdude]

So where is a good place to buy all this here cum-pyut-er hardwhere stuff???

[davidbrady]

(07-09-2013 18:41)Arcticdude Wrote:  So where is a good place to buy all this here cum-pyut-er hardwhere stuff???

John,

I'll put together a list of suppliers. Right now we're packing for a short trip, but I'll get to it! Thanks for the interest. The Ardunio requires a modest amount of programming and the XBee requires some configuration. I can either do it for folks or step them thru it. What I'm noticing about my current setup is that it's uber reliable - it always seems to be there when I ask it for data. The Arduino never fails to provide sensor data and the XBee is always connected. So far it's very impressive. To help with the rigors inside our coaches there are many very cool Arduino cases, power supplies, and battery packs available. I'll take my stuff with me during our travels so that I can send data over my cellular router; alas, the real thing!

If there's enough interest, at some point I can imagine a 'Sensor Area Network' Toplink that when clicked on gives a user his personal remote sensor data, or I can incorporate a link to a private page in each member's UserCP. I'm playing around with GUI displays for the data and what I'm finding so far is it's hard to beat a simple table for data density, easy of use, speed, and readability. It'll be interesting to see how the user page evolves. We can do almost anything.

[Arcticdude]

What about something like this as an interface?

http://www.nexiq.com/node/45

[davidbrady]

Thanks Arcticdude,

That device is very similar to the CANPod that Ray Davis uses in his RV TechTools product line, only more expensive.

Thanks for bringing this thread back to life. I've had back to back visitors at the house for almost two months; consequently, my sensor area network has taken a back seat.

Here's an interesting article from Bloomberg that talks about the exploding world of machine 2 machine communications along with the productivity boost it's expected to bring. Good stuff!