FEATURE SWITCHES, DISPLAYS & UIS
ART IS FOR DISPLAY Interfaces for environmentally
T
here is no hiding place for healthcare and food companies from a visit by
an inspector, looking for a blip in the business’s procedures that could put the public’s health at risk. And let’s not forget the countless pieces of priceless art featured in museums and private collections across the UK, which must be protected from potentially destructive fluctuations in environmental conditions, including temperature and humidity. These market sectors rely upon manual data loggers to keep tabs on environmental conditions, filling in onerous forms with retrospective figures. There’s no need to compromise on user interface and display quality to achieve this: Hanwell Solutions hopes to solve this with its browser-based user interface (UI). While this scalable UI works in the background, the app provides a quick yet thorough overview for users that are without access to networked software. App features also include interactive graphs, tables and plan views for improved data analysis, as well as management of user access levels through customisable groups. Environmental monitoring technology is invaluable to all types of business that rely on keeping their products in strictly controlled conditions to avoid costly damage, not only to those products but also to reputation and, ultimately, the balance sheet. Returning to museums and galleries, consider the need to borrow collections from other sources;
the cost of commercial insurance for safeguarding items on loan could be prohibitive. This is where the Government Indemnity Scheme comes in, providing cost-free cover to borrowing institutions. To qualify for the scheme museums and galleries, they have to satisfy the Secretary of State that arrangements have been made to provide a level of environmental monitoring and control, necessary for the appropriate care of the object/s loaned.
Radio wireless monitoring equipment provides this assurance. Conditions can be monitored via a single system, with sensors calibrated to user specification and brought together at one or more accessible points. Any compromised conditions trigger immediate alarms; the comprehensive data collection and analysis keeps the authorities happy. In this regard, Hanwell relies on proven radio wireless technology to support its versatile and robust sensors and transmitters, many of which operate with user-friendly LCD displays, marking temperature and humidity measurements, with 50,000 data readings per channel and up to two years of battery life. Wireless monitoring is an alternative to running cables around connected buildings.
A selection of Hanwell’s display and UI units
demanding applications Words by Jason Todd, UK business development executive, Hanwell
A key advantage that wireless
technology has over WiFi is distance. WiFi uses a high frequency signal which means you can push through a lot of data, but only at a very short distance; with radio technology, you can push a little bit of data a long way. A controlled signal transmission for a temperature/humidity reading is a small package of data - around 12bits in fact - that can travel around three miles, in an open field, using radio technology. Radio equipment can also be moved around, so relocating sensors to suit changing requirements still leaves the
Art is invaluable; so is the technology that monitors the environment in which it is kept, contributing to optimal conditons for its exhibition
transmissions within signal range. Another significant benefit of radio is ultra-low power consumption. Unlike WiFi, radio devices are not constantly looking for another device to communicate with; they lie dormant between transmissions, facilitating a life span of two years from a standard, user-replaceable lithium battery. Quality UIs and displays cannot stand alone: one can combine them with a software/hardware platform and a robust wireless environmental monitoring solution, to enable real-time data access and audit reporting capabilities for multiple sites, zones and sensor groups.
Hanwell
www.hanwell.com
20 OCTOBER 2019 | ELECTRONICS
/ ELECTRONICS
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