Nordic-powered cellular IoT equipment and appliance monitor safeguards critical equipment

Vigilant Onsite’s ‘AKG’ health and power monitor uses Nordic low power nRF9160 SiP for secure and reliable device-to-Cloud data delivery

IoT telemetry and monitoring solutions company, Vigilant Onsite Inc., has launched a cellular IoT-powered equipment and appliance monitor that ensures critical equipment is running correctly, and alerts the owner if there is any sign of trouble or potentially pending failure. The ‘AKG’ health and power monitor is quickly and easily installed between the wall outlet and monitored equipment to continuously collect and report equipment power utilization. The device is suitable for a wide range of industrial, commercial or domestic equipment and appliances, for example, freezers and refrigeration units, sump pumps, water heaters, and circulating pumps.

The AKG contains an internal AC current sensor to measure the electrical current consumption of the connected equipment or appliance, as well as a temperature sensor which monitors ambient temperature in the vicinity. The sensors monitor and detect anomalous operation and detect if the environment in which the equipment is running is outside of expected parameters.

LTE-M cellular connectivity powered by nRF9160

This data is relayed to the Cloud for analysis and monitoring using LTE-M cellular connectivity provided by the integrated Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160 SiP. When the Cloud-based data analytics, AI, and custom-designed algorithms detect the equipment is operating differently than previously monitored data, if the power to the appliance is lost, or the equipment is running or not running as normal, an alert or notification is sent to the user’s email address or ‘AKG’ app on their smartphone. The app also allows the end user to configure custom alerts, set temperature thresholds, view historical statistical data and monitor multiple AKG devices.

The ability to design and develop firmware that runs directly in the nRF9160 removed the need for an additional processor which reduces cost, time-to-market, and drives simplicity and reliability in the design.

Gary Naden, President, Vigilant Onsite.

“When the power fails, or your equipment stops or starts running, runs unexpectedly, or the ambient temperature exceeds thresholds, the AKG system will initiate alerts and notifications that will be delivered to your smartphone or email address in time to prevent damage due to equipment failure,” says Gary Naden, President, Vigilant Onsite. “The customer can then review the alerts and utilization graphs to assess the situation and respond effectively before loss is incurred.”

Class-leading low power consumption

The AKG is mains powered, but also includes a rechargeable Li-ion battery that provides multi-day backup in the event of complete and extended power failure, while still regularly relaying data to the Cloud. The class-leading low power consumption of the nRF9160 SiP helps maximize this battery life, thanks to the support for both PSM and eDRX power-saving modes, enabling the SiP to sleep for longer periods to conserve battery capacity.

“The Nordic nRF9160 provided the complete capability necessary to meet our product requirements from the cellular connectivity to the ADC, digital I/O, as well as security and cryptography,” continues Naden. “Additionally, the fantastic libraries, code support, IDEs, DevZone, and all other benefits of the Nordic ecosystem greatly reduced our time-to-market and difficulty of development.

“The ability to design and develop firmware that runs directly in the nRF9160 removed the need for an additional processor which reduces cost, time-to-market, and drives simplicity and reliability in the design.”