Smart Sensor Systems

TinyTIM™ (Tiny Transducer Interface Module)
Bluetooth Smart Sensor Module

An Open Standard Compliant Wireless Smart Sensor Module

Thinking of taking your sensor wireless?
The TinyTIM™ Smart Sensor Module from Smart Sensor Systems can make this happen. TinyTIM™ provides the radio and wireless protocol as well as other resources through a 37-pin interface. Digital I/O, SPI bus, four single-ended inputs (or two differential inputs) to a 16-bit A-to-D converter and two inputs to a 12-bit A-to-D converter are available for your sensor. With built-in transducer electronic data sheet (TEDS) memory, you can download the datasheet for your sensor and provide “ready-to-use” data on transmission to the application processor. The application processor does not have to receive a voltage or resistance value and convert it to the units of what is being sensed. Instead, the smart sensor makes the conversion before transmitting the sensed value.

Why Open Standard Wireless Sensors?
TinyTIM™ is compliant with the 1451-standard. This makes it plug-and-play with other IEEE 1451-compliant devices. Building a network of IEEE 1451 compliant devices is easy.

Make Critical Decisions at the Sensor Location
Application memory on the TinyTIM™ Smart Sensor Module allows you to do much of the decision making on the smart sensor module. TinyTIM™ can make limit tests of the sensed value and only transmit when necessary such as when the occurrence of that being sensed exceeds a limit.

Supporting Your Sensor is Easy
You can download sensor calibration data over the TinyTIM™ wireless interface using a utility program that is provided making supporting the sensors easy. Utilities are also provided to move sensed data to the network application processor on your PC.

Let Us Help Make Your Sensor Wireless
Smart Sensor Systems is a leading source for wireless sensors. Our products and our transducer development kits help you design wireless smart sensor networks of your own. Find out more about smart sensors - contact a Smart Sensor Systems consultant at info@SmartSensorSystems.com

What is a sensor?

A sensor is a device that converts physical, biological or chemical input into an electrical or optical signal. To be useful, the signal must be measured and transformed into digital format which can be processed and analyzed efficiently by computers. The information can be used by either a person or an intelligent device monitoring the activity to make decisions that maintain or change a course of action.

What is a smart sensor?

A smart sensor is simply one that acquires physical, biological or chemical input, converts the measured value into a digital format in the units of the measured attribute and transmits that measured information via the Ethernet to a computer monitoring point.

For example, a traditional thermocouple produces a voltage proportional to the temperature that it measures. This voltage has to be further processed to convert it to a corresponding temperature through an analog-to-digital acquisition and a set of fairly complex algorithms. A smart sensor however, senses the temperature and produces a proportional voltage that is acquired and converted to digital format [ADC – analog-to-digital conversion] then transmitted to a computer wirelessly using a standard protocol governed by IEEE 1451.

A temperature smart sensor will eliminate the voltmeter by acquiring the measured value, provide any necessary signal conditioning, make the translation from voltage-to-temperature and provide a wireless transmission from the sensor to the ethernet governed by the IEEE 1451 standard making deployment easy and at less cost. This provides excellent communications, data reduction and intelligent data development and saves money on deployment and operations. Actionable intelligence is generated so that users are not overwhelmed by huge amounts of data with the need for processing. Users have the opportunity to make efficient, effective and intelligent decisions based on processed data immediately upon receipt.

A smart sensor does many things a sensor system was required to do to process a measurement and provide intelligent information. In addition, the smart sensor takes care of transmitting the processed information ready to use via the Ethernet to the system monitoring point.