Sensor-Enabled Device for Measuring Vibrations

A proof-of-concept implementation of a vibration measuring solution

The client wanted to add a brand-new vibration-measuring solution to their portfolio. The IoT-based product would analyze equipment vibrations to detect malfunctions early on.

Problem

The client had a clear vision of the solution as a vibration sensor device using BLE to retrieve data from sensors.

The system had to be integrated into a custom-built communication infrastructure. The company turned to Softeq to conduct a proof of concept (PoC) and check the feasibility of their idea.

Solution

Sensor-enabled-Device-for-Measuring-Vibrations

The solution delivered by the Softeq IoT development team features a Carrier Vibration Sensor (CveVT5) equipped with low-power, three-axis accelerometers, which have 12-bit resolution. Their high bandwidth and high sensitivity characteristics allow end-users to capture highly accurate data and predict the wear of machine parts and tools.

The CveVT5 device operates in one of three modes:

Sleep (i.e., energy-saving mode)
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Connected

As long-term functioning was one of the client’s key requirements, our engineers managed to achieve a 12-month battery life in the Sleep mode with occasional activity, and one-month non-stop functioning.

Sensor-to-device data transfer is based on the BLE communication standard. The communication protocol has been specified and customized by the Softeq team.

The captured measurements are transferred to a host device via the BLE interface. For the device hardware part, our engineers chose ConnectBlue’s OLP425 evaluation board, which natively supports low-energy BLE connectivity.

For a full-scale demonstration of the API’s capabilities, we developed a sample iOS app.

The project has been delivered with the key solution parameters:

Sampling Speed — 110%
High data buffering capacity — 100% (all RAM on CPU)
Long battery life — 100%

Result

After testing the PoC solution, the client saw a huge commercial potential in the product and its capacity to assess the wear of machine components in an accurate and cost-efficient way. Currently, the customer is in the process of developing a commercial product based on the PoC.

Softeq is still engaged in the project and stays responsible for minor firmware updates. Our experts also help with cost estimation for PCB fabrication.