Mobile Data Aquisition
ITEG GmbH is developing MDA (Mobile Data Aquisition), a software solution for the aquistion and management of measurement data with mobile devices. MDA currently focusses on reading data from stationary sensors in the area of water power plants and hydrology.
MDA’s components are designed for ease of operation of the mobile devices and transparent data processing.
Mesurement data are entered Offline using mobile devices with “MDA-Client for Android”, independent from any data connectivity.
Later on the data of a measurement round can be transmitted directly from the mobile device to the server in one short operation. Any available data connection can be used: WiFi, cellular radio, ethernet. No PC is required, no cable connection with USB or RS232, no proprietary PC software.
Central storage and processing of all collected measurement data is performed by a modular server software which is written in Java and can be run on any Linux or Windows system. The server software provides a web interface compatible with any modern browser with support for JavaScript.
Server users can be authenticated against your organization’s Active Directory Server and other authentication backends.
The modular architcture allows as to adapt the MDA-Server to Your needs or interconnect it with other systems.
Modular Server Architecture
The MDA-Server is a modular software solution built with Java (OSGi bundles). The commitment to Open Source components guarantees long-term maintainability and stability.
The administration of measured sensors and further processing of collected data take place in a HTML/JavaScript browser application available everywhere in your network. No additional software on the PCs is required.
Server Software
Our MDA server consists of several Java components (bundles) loaded into an OSGi container (Apache Karaf). This approach allows to perform configuration changes and minor updates online.
The server’s security layer allows to authenticate users with their Active Directory Accounts and assign roles based on Active Directory Groups.
The administration interface is implemented as browser based HTML/JavaScript applikation. Therefore no local installation on desktop computers is required, users just need a browser with JavaScript support, like MS Internet Explorer 7 or higher, Chrome, Firefox, Safari.
Mobile Data Entry
Data aquisition is performed using a mobile application installed on a pratical mobile device (like skeye.allegro from Höft&Wessel). We deeply care for ease of use of the user interface as well as the hardware (usable with gloves, shock and water proof).
The synchronization of data with the server takes place using either the ethernet connection of a docking station, or WiFi, or cellular radio. No connection to a PC is required.
Measurement readers can be assigned to one ore more groups, groups and measurment rounds can be assigned to a specific part of your infrastructure. This approach reduces the length of lists the users has to cope with making choices.
During every synchronization with the server meta data and recent measurement data for each specified measurement round are downloaded to the mobile device. During measurement entry no server connection is required. Data of completed measurement rounds are uploaded to the server during the next explicit synchronization with the server. Uploaded data are delete on the device, the amount of data loss is kept to a minimum.
Optional Extensions
The modular architecture of the MDA server makes it easy to store or export measurement data using a variety of formats, using extension modules. The following ideas show examples of what is possbile or even on the roadmap:
Reporting and Filing
Reporting can target people (human-readable and printable files) or other automated systems (machine-readable exchange files). Automatic regular export is doable.
Visualisation with TISGraph
Measurement data collected with MDA can be used in our reporting application TISGraph, using an optional data module. In MDA environments, TISGraph can be used without a KISTERS TSM-Server.
Integration with KISTERS TSM-Server resp. WISKI 7
From our strategic alliance with KISTERS we have the know how to store measurment data in your existing WISKI7 resp. TSM-Server database.
Services
Quality Control
All our software projects undergo automated unit tests and manual system tests. This approach protects existing features from colateral damage caused by updates and extension work on existing code.
Training
To optimize acceptance of MDA by your staff we offer trainings.