Image Credits: Vaisala Ltd.
The Vaisala viewLinc monitoring system provides alarming, trends, and reporting for controlled conditions in manufacturing and warehouse environments. Ideal for both light and heavy industrial environments, as well as GxP-regulated applications, the system integrates a wide selection of Vaisala data loggers, transmitters and network connectivity options to monitor temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature, CO2, differential pressure, door switches, and more.
After more than a decade’s use in critical and pharmaceutical environments, the viewLinc system has been redesigned to install easily with little IT support needed, and integrate cutting-edge wireless technologies that allow data loggers to signal for over 100 meters in obstructed environments. The newest software and its new wireless data loggers will be released in fall of 2017.
System Usability Redesigned
There were two things we set out to achieve with this latest build of the system: simplify system deployment and leverage new capabilities in wireless communications to create logging devices that communicate reliably in obstructed environments.
Jon Aldous, Controlled Environment Product Manager, Vaisala
“For the first goal, we acted on many years of working closely with our customers, providing them with fairly intensive training for system users. Training our customers to set up and use the system allowed us to create a wish-list of system functions that might be either simplified or automated. So we eliminated or improved aspects of system deployment that were time-consuming or complex, and updated the software interface with embedded help to guide users through common tasks,” says Aldous.
Image Credits: Vaisala Ltd.
VaiNet Long-range Wireless Technology
To achieve the second goal of adding long-range wireless devices to viewLinc, Vaisala licensed LoRa® wireless specification to create VaiNet – a new proprietary wireless protocol. The LoRa® specification allows VaiNet to provide superior signal propagation in monitoring applications. The signal strength between network access points and data loggers can travel over 100 meters and is not deterred by walls, equipment, Wi-Fi networks, or other normal signal impediments. Each low-power VaiNet wireless data logger is powered by two standard AA alkaline 1.5 Volt batteries and can maintain up to thirty days of data if the wireless network loses connectivity to ensure gap-free historical records.
viewLinc 5: Making a Great System Better
The timing for redeveloping viewLinc was ideal on many fronts. The emergence of new wireless specifications that significantly increase signal range, along with recent advances in user experience design gave us the opportunity to re-think our monitoring solution. We combined these innovations with an in-depth understanding our customers’ needs to streamline almost every facet of the viewLinc system. We accomplished our original goal of augmenting the system with superior wireless data logging capabilities and simplifying system installation so that viewLinc nearly deploys itself.
Jon Aldous, Controlled Environment Product Manager, Vaisala
Image Credits: Vaisala Ltd.
For a monitoring system that can be installed in minutes, maintain compliance for years, and eliminate almost every issue related to wireless data logging, the Vaisala viewLinc Monitoring System provides a total solution for monitoring controlled environments.