Agile-Link™ Wireless Data Acquisition System

Description This system allows for simultaneous data collection from multiple sensing nodes, including MicroStrain's G-Link®, V-Link®, and SG-Link® wireless sensors. MicroStrain® announces the Agile-Link™ product family. Agile-Link™ is a wireless data acquisition system capable of simultaneous, high-speed data acquisition, for use with wireless strain gauges, accelerometers, temperature, and millivolt level inputs.

Applications Structural monitoring, smart structures and smart materials Vibration and acoustic noise testing Assembly line testing with "smart packaging" Sports performance and sports medicine analysis Distributed security and machine health monitoring networks

How it works MicroStrain, Inc. has developed "frequency agile" sensor transceiver nodes and base stations, which can use a wide range of RF communications frequencies through software configuration. This technique, termed frequency division multiplexing (FDM), allows multiple wireless sensing nodes to communicate simultaneously without RF interference between them. Test and measurement applications often require the combination of wireless strain measurement systems to be used alongside hard-wired sensors, all connected to an existing analog data acquisition system. In order to easily support these applications, MicroStrain has released Agile-Link™ analog output base stations that collect analog data from multi-channel Agile-Link™ sensor nodes and then reconstructs the analog waveforms on the base station's outputs. To facilitate the use of wireless strain gauges, MicroStrain® has released a PC based Agile-Link™ software package for Windows 95/98/2000/XP machines. In addition, a new Strain Wizard® plug-in for Agile-Link™ supports wireless automatic offset balancing, wireless gain adjustment, and wireless shunt calibration. The Strain Wizard® is important for stress analysis because it allows the end user to convert from bits out to physical units of strain. Specifications for Agile-Link™ wireless strain sensing nodes used with 1000 ohm foil strain gauges. Data Storage Capacity 2 megabytes (approximately 1,000,000 data points) Data Logging Mode Log up to 1,000,000 data points (from 100 to 65,500 samples or continuous) at 32 Hz to 2048 Hz Sensor event driven trigger Commence datalogging when threshold exceeded Real-time streaming mode Transmit real time data from node to PC - rate depends on number of active channels: 1 channel - 4 KHz, 2 channels - 2 KHz, 3 channels - 1.33 KHz, 4 channels - 1 KHz, 5 channels - 800 Hz, 6 channels - 666 Hz, 7 channels - 570 Hz, 8 channels - 500 Hz Low duty-cycle mode Supports multiple nodes on single RF channel, total update bandwidth of 500 Hz divided by number of nodes Radio Frequency (RF) Transceiver Carrier 2.4 GHz, direct sequence spread spectrum, license free worldwide (2.450 to 2.490 GHz -16 channels) RF Data Packet Standard IEEE 802.15.4, open communication architecture RF Programming & Downloading 8 minutes to download full memory Range for Bi-directional RF Link 70 m line-of-sight, up to 300 m with optional high gain antenna Operating System Windows XP® Compatible PC Comm Serial port, 115.2 kBaud Sensor Specifications SG-Link®, G-Link®, V-Link®