Internal Sensors

Light Sensor

The Senquip ORB is equipped with an internal light sensor that is used to activate the ORB setup functions when the lid is opened and to detect tamper attempts. The light sensor is sampled on a regular basis and does not have an associated measurement interval.

An alert can be generated when the ORB detects light, meaning that the lid has been opened.

Note

A tamper alert, if enabled will be triggered by a tamper attempt or an authorised entry to change settings.

A full list of light sensor settings is given in the table at the end of the chapter.

Accelerometer

The Senquip ORB has an integrated 3-axis accelerometer. The accelerometer allows for angle measurement, movement detection, harsh-usage monitoring and utilisation calculation. To provide more accurate measurement for pitch, roll and angle measurement, each time the accelerometer is measured, 10 samples will be taken at 1 msec intervals and the average will be returned as the measured value. Pitch, roll and angle will be calculated from the average acceleration.

Raw accelerometer data in the X (through the lid), Y (left to right across the ORB lid) and Z (from the hinge down to the cable gland) are available and are delivered in G’s. These values can be useful, for instance where an incident is being re-created from force data.

Note

Incident recreation using force data requires high speed sampling. Please contact Senquip to discuss your application.

When looking at the front cover, positive pitch is described as the top of the ORB tilting towards the observer. In the same scenario, negative pitch is described as the top of the ORB cover moving away from the observer.

When looking at the front cover, positive roll is described as the top of the ORB tilting towards the right. In the same scenario, negative roll is described as the top of the ORB cover moving towards the left.

Pitch and roll are useful in applications where objects to which the ORB is attached have a definite front, back, left and right; for instance a vehicle. For objects like a pole, the user may be more interested in the angle of the pole to vertical. In these applications, the tilt may be more useful than pitch or roll.

Specification

Parameter	Specification
G-force range	+- 16G
Resolution	1mG
Sensitivity change vs temperature	0.1% per°C
Typical zero-g level offset accuracy	+- 40mG
Tilt resolution	0.1 deg
Tilt accuracy (0-45 deg)	1.0 deg
Tilt accuracy (45-90 deg)	2.0 deg

Settings

Accelerometer measurements can be scheduled as a multiple of the base-interval. The fastest possible measurement rate is achieved by setting the interval to 1 in which case measurements will occur on every base interval. To reduce power consumption, the measurement rate can be turned down by increasing the interval.

Warning and alarm thresholds for pitch, roll and angle can be enabled. Once enabled, each time a measurement is completed, the returned value will be compared with minimum and maximum warning and alarm thresholds. If a warning or alarm level is breached, a message will immediately be transmitted. As long as the warning or alarm condition persists, messages will be transmitted at the exception-interval rather than the transmit-interval. Hysteresis can be specified in 1 degree increments, to prevent multiple alarms in the presence of vibration.

The accelerometer is able to detect motion and shocks due to harsh usage even during sleep. If motion or shock monitoring is enabled and either of those events occurs, a flag will be set. Event flags are checked at each base-interval and if one exists, an alert message can be scheduled to be sent at that time. The threshold as well as time for which an activity must be present can be set for both motion and shock monitoring.

Note

Pitch and roll warning and alarm levels can be positive or negative. Angle warning and alarms can only be positive.

Vibration can be used as a trigger to count hours. This may be useful where the number of hours that an engine is running needs to be calculated.

A full list of accelerometer settings is given in the table at the end of the chapter.

Magnetic switch

The Senquip QUAD contains a built-in hall-effect sensor that acts as a magnetic switch. When the switch detects a magnet, the Senquip QUAD can be made to enter setup mode, wakeup, or trigger a function in a script.

Settings

Three actions are available when the magnetic switch is activated.

Setup: Put the device into setup mode. Identical to pressing the Setup button. If the device is asleep, it will wake and enter Setup Mode.
Wake: Wake the device up and perform a measurement cycle. There is no action if device is already awake.
Trigger: Wake the device if asleep. Trigger TP0 before first measurement cycle. TP0 should be handled in a script.

Temperature sensor

An integrated temperature sensor allows for measurement of ambient temperature. Please be aware that the temperature sensor will measure the temperature inside the ORB enclosure; this temperature can be subject to fluctuations, for example when the internal lithium ion battery is charging and so the environment within the ORB heats up. For accurate external temperature measurement or to measure a wider range of temperatures, use the thermocouple peripheral.

Specification

Parameter	Specification
Measurement range	-40 - 85°C
Resolution	0.01 deg°C
Absolute accuracy (25°C)	+-0.5 deg°C
Absolute accuracy (0 - 65°C)	+-1 deg°C

Settings

Measurements can be scheduled as a multiple of the base-interval. The fastest possible measurement rate is achieved by setting the interval to 1 in which case measurements will occur on every base interval. To reduce power consumption, the measurement rate can be turned down by increasing the interval.

Warning and alarm thresholds for ambient temperature can be enabled. Once enabled, each time a measurement is completed, the returned value will be compared with minimum and maximum warning and alarm thresholds. If a warning or alarm level is breached, a message will immediately be transmitted. As long as the warning or alarm condition persists, messages will be transmitted at the exception-interval rather than the transmit-interval. Hysteresis can be specified in 1°C increments, to prevent multiple alarms in the presence of fluctuating temperature.

A full list of temperature sensor settings is given in the table at the end of the chapter.

GPS

Models of the ORB that have 4G LTE connectivity also have an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS receiver, with integrated antenna and LNA allows for position and speed based reporting. The internal GPS will receive GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo satellites to ensure high accuracy measurement and fast time to first fix. Data available from the GPS includes:

Latitude, longitude and height
Speed (km/h) and bearing
Date and time
Number satellites being tracked

In order to utilise the GPS, the ORB needs to be mounted such that the internal antenna has visibility of the sky. Plastic and fibreglass roof sheeting will have a minimal effect on GPS performance whereas reinforced concrete and metal roofs will render the GPS inoperable. In applications where GPS is required but the ORB cannot be mounted in a position where the sky is visible, a GPS re-radiating antenna can be used. Please make sure that the chosen re-radiating antenna is of high quality and legal for use in your region. An advantage of good GPS signal quality is that the ORB will consume less power as acquisition time will be less.

Specification

Parameter	Specification
Time to first fix from power up	Typically 60 seconds
Position update rate	Maximum 1Hz
Horizontal position accuracy	Typically +-5m (<2.5m CEP-50)
Vertical position accuracy	Typically +-20m
Horizontal speed accuracy	1km/h

Settings

Measurements can be scheduled as a multiple of the base-interval. The fastest possible measurement rate is achieved by setting the interval to 1 in which case measurements will occur on every base interval. To reduce power consumption, the measurement rate can be turned down by increasing the interval. The GPS is a high power peripheral and so use should be limited when running on battery power.

GPS alert description — GPS alert parameters

The GPS can create an alert based on position and speed. A known position (expected latitude and expected longitude) can be specified and if the ORB moves a particular radius from that point, an alert can be raised. Hysteresis can be specified in 1 meter increments to prevent multiple alerts, for instance as a boat swings on a mooring near the edge of the allowed radius. Likewise, a maximum speed can be specified and if the ORB exceeds that speed, an alert will also be raised. Speed hysteresis can be specified in 1km/h increments, to prevent multiple alerts as the speed fluctuates at the alert point. The time that GPS speed exceeds 2km/h can counted and be used to calculate machine utilisation.

Note

In the example above, the ORB could also report bilge water level, solar battery voltage and a host of other parameters associated with the yacht.

A full list of GPS settings is given in the table at the end of the chapter.

Bluetooth Interface

The ORB has a Bluetooth peripheral that can transmit and receive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertising packets. BLE beacons typically use the advertising packets to communicate measured data such as temperatures, voltages, movement, and battery voltage. BLE tags are a special type of beacon that typically only contain identification information and are used to locate items. BLE beacons send advertising messages at different rates. Some report every second and some may be every minute or more. Battery operated BLE devices tend to send at lower rates to save power. Some BLE device are smart and will slow their send rate if they are not being used. A tire pressure monitoring device may stop sending if the tire is not rotating. Typical protocols used in advertising packets include Eddystone and iBeacon. The ORB supports both.

The BLE beacons from ELA shown below enable identification, and measurement of temperature, humidity, voltage, switch position, and more.

Selection of BLE beacons — Example BLE beacons from ELA

The ORB will report the beacon address, data, and the strength of the received signal.

The address (or identifier) is unique and allows individual tags to be recognised.
The data may contain battery voltage, temperature, humidity, or any other data being conveyed by the beacon.
The receive signal strength (RSSI) gives an indication of how strong the signal from the beacon is.

For details on using the ORB as a BLE beacon to transmit custom advertising packets, please refer to the Senquip Scripting Guide.

Note

The BLE module and Wi-Fi module share a common radio. BLE operation will work best when the ORB is operated using a cellular network rather than Wi-Fi.

Specification

Parameter	Specification
Bluetooth version	4.2

Settings

Measurements can be scheduled as a multiple of the base-interval. The fastest possible measurement rate is achieved by setting the interval to 1 in which case the Bluetooth peripheral will be sampled on every base interval. To reduce power consumption, the measurement rate can be turned down by increasing the interval.

When active, the Bluetooth peripheral will scan for all advertising packets. In a typical environment, phones, computers, and other devices are all advertising. The ORB Bluetooth peripheral could easily report a dozen Bluetooth devices even when the one you are searching for is off. The ORB can filter for only the required Bluetooth devices by filling in the Address Capture List. Required addresses should be entered in hexadecimal and should be separated by commas. When the ORB wakes for the next measurement interval, the Bluetooth peripheral will be sampled until all the messages listed have been found or the Capture Time has been reached. If multiple messages with the same identifier are required in a single measurement interval, place a * followed by the number of messages of that identifier to be returned after the identifier in the list. For example: 98588A10375E*4, 98588a103777, 98588a103888*10 will return 98588A10375E four times, 98588a103777 once and 98588a103888 ten times. Leave the ID Capture List blank to receive all messages.

The Capture Time setting can be used to set a timeout after which the Bluetooth peripheral will stop listening, allowing the ORB to transmit received messages and return to sleep. Capture-time can be used as a mechanism to allow the ORB to sample the environment for devices for a defined time-period.

A full list of Bluetooth settings is given in the table at the end of this chapter.

Internal Sensor Settings

A full list of settings for internal sensors is given in the table below.

Name	Item	Function	Range	Unit	Internal Reference
Light Sensor
Name	text	A name for the light sensor that is meaningful to the user.	25 chars		tamper.name
Tamper Alert	boolean	This parameter determines if an alert is generated when the light sensor detects light or not.			tamper.enable
Ambient Temperature
Name	text	A name for the input that is meaningful to the user.	25 chars		ambient.name
Interval	integer	The number of base intervals after which the temperature is sampled. A value of 1 means that the input is collected every base interval. Set to 0 to disable.	0 to 10000		ambient.interval
Hysteresis	decimal	The amount by which the measured value has to drop below the threshold to re-enable the alert after an event.	0 to 100	°C	ambient.hysteresis
Warning	text	Warning thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-40 to 100	°C	ambient.warning
Alarm	text	Alarm thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-40 to 100	°C	ambient.alarm
Accelerometer
Name	text	A name for the input that is meaningful to the user.	25 chars		accel.name
Interval	integer	The number of base intervals after which the accelerometer is sampled. A value of 1 means that the input is collected every base interval. Set to 0 to disable.	0 to 10000		accel.interval
Output XYZ Vectors	boolean	Send X,Y,Z gravity vectors in data output.			accel.outputxyz
Hysteresis	decimal	The amount by which the pitch, roll or angle has to exceed a threshold before triggering alarms or warnings.	0 to 20	Degrees	accel.hysteresis
Pitch Warning	text	Warning thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-90 to 90	Degrees	accel.pitch.warning
Pitch Alarm	text	Alarm thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-90 to 90	Degrees	accel.pitch.alarm
Roll Warning	text	Warning thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-90 to 90	Degrees	accel.roll.warning
Roll Alarm	text	Alarm thresholds. Refer to user guide.	-90 to 90	Degrees	accel.roll.alarm
Angle Warning	text	Warning thresholds. Refer to user guide.	0 to 90	Degrees	accel.angle.warning
Angle Alarm	text	Alarm thresholds. Refer to user guide.	0 to 90	Degrees	accel.angle.alarm
Motion Warning	text	Warning thresholds. Refer to user guide.	0 to 5000	milli-g	accel.motion.warning
Motion Alarm	text	Alarm thresholds. Refer to user guide.	0 to 5000	milli-g	accel.motion.alarm
Wake from Hibernate	boolean	The high warning motion threshold is used to wake the device when hibernating.			accel.motion.wake_from_hibernate
Motion Wake Threshold	decimal	The motion threshold above which the device will wake from hibernation.	1 to 2000	milli-g	accel.motion.wake_threshold
Count Motion Hours	boolean	Counts the number of hours the device exceeds the Motion Wake Threshold. Typically used as an machinery work vs idle hour meter.			accel.motion.count_hours
GPS
Name	text	A name for the GPS signal that is meaningful to the user.	25 chars		gps.name
Interval	integer	The number of base intervals after which the gps is sampled. A value of 1 means that the input is collected every base interval. Set to 0 to disable.	0 to 10000		gps.interval
Max Time	integer	Maximum time the device will wait for a valid GPS fix.	0 to 3600	Seconds	gps.maxtime
Position
Position Alert	boolean	Sets whether a change in position generates an alert.			gps.position.alert.enable
Radius	integer	An alert will be raised if the device moves further than this value from the expected position.	1 to 10000	Meters	gps.position.alert.radius
Hysteresis	integer	Once the alert is active or inactive, the radius must change by this value to change the alert state.	1 to 10000	Meters	gps.position.alert.hysteresis
Expected Latitude	decimal	Latitude at which the device is expected to be.	-90 to 90	Degrees	gps.position.alert.lat
Expected Longitude	decimal	Longitude at which the device is expected to be.	-180 to 180	Degrees	gps.position.alert.lon
Speed
Count Movement Hours	boolean	Counts the number of hours the device is moving according to the GPS speed.			gps.speed.count_hours
Speed Alert	boolean	Sets whether a change in speed generates an alert.			gps.speed.alert.enable
Threshold	integer	An alert will be raised if the device’s speed goes above this threshold.	1 to 1000	km/h	gps.speed.alert.threshold
Hysteresis	integer	Once the alert is active or inactive, the speed must change by this value to change the alert state.	1 to 1000	km/h	gps.speed.alert.hysteresis
Bluetooth
Name	text	A name that is meaningful to the user.	25 chars		ble.name
Interval	integer	The number of base intervals after which the Bluetooth module is turned on. Set to 0 to disable.	0 to 10000		ble.interval
Scan Time	integer	The device will capture matching messages for this length of time.		Seconds	ble.capture_time
Address Capture List	text	List of adresses to be captured in HEX format, separated by a comma. Leave blank to capture all.	200 chars		ble.id_list
Send Raw Data	boolean	If ticked, all captured messages will be added to the data message.