Scientific Solutions ^® Inc.

ShipDAS ^® Data-Logger

Includes LabPac^® and PowerTag^®

Unattended Data Logging by Land, by Sea or by Air!

The Scientific Solutions' ShipDAS is ideal for unattended data logging of acceleration, vibration, temperature and humidity for extended periods of time. Features include eight fault-tolerant channels of accelerometer signal conditioning with programmable gain amplifiers, tunable anti-aliasing filters, and simultaneous sampling 16 bit Analog-to-Digital Conversion. Also included are dedicated temperature and humidity inputs with complete signal conditioning. The acquired data is time&date stamped with an internal clock synchronized to the atomic clock and location-stamped worldwide using an integrated GPS system. Features Advanced Dynamic Power Saving (ADPS) technology to reduce power consumption during acquisition with automatic sleep/wake functions for ultra-low power consumption and high performance nonvolatile memory to retain the acquired data under non-powered conditions. Intended for transportation shock, vibration and environmental data logging, its versatility also makes it convenient as a general purpose portable lightweight, low power acquisition system.

Great for Transportation Measurements and includes RFID capabilities!

When shipping goods, you want to be sure that the goods are not subjected to environmental conditions that are detrimental to the contents. ShipDAS can go along for the ride and automatically record key parameters working unattended around-the-clock monitoring and recording environmental conditions and providing a complete and accurate picture of the overall journey.

The buzz-word today in the shipping and retail industry is RFID, and shipDAS incorporates RFID technology to allow seamless integration with RFID standard products for automatic tracking and collection of RFID data such as part numbers, serial numbers and associated shipping information.

Typically, RFID consists of three parts
(1). The Transceiver - which controls the antenna and collects data
(2). Scanning Antenna - which transmits a Radio Frequency (RF) signal under control of the Transceiver and receives an RF signal back from the RFID Transponder that is passed back to the Transceiver.
(3). The RFID Transponder - Also sometimes called the RFID Tag which contains the data that is being read and is normally located on the package.

The Scanning antenna transmits a Radio Frequency (RF) signal. The RF signal accomplishes two tasks:
(1). It provides a passive RFID transponder (the RFID TAG) with the energy to communicate
(2). It provides a communication path between the RFID TAG and the Transceiver.

When an RFID tag passes thru the electromagnetic field of the scanning antenna, it detects the presence of the RF signal and transmits the information contained in its microchip which in turn is picked up by the scanning antenna and the data is provided to the transceiver. The microchip of the RFID tag modulates the RF carrier waves that are sent back to the scanning antenna with digital data that can be processed. If the RFID is a "passive" device, it also draws power from the magnetic field and uses this to power the circuits of the RFID tag.

Hence there are two types of RFID tags; Passive and Active.

Passive RFID Tags - A "Passive" RFID tag contains no internal power source and hence do not require batteries to operate and thus can be much smaller and have a very long life span. However, because they have no active power of their own, passive RFID Tags are limited in the physical distance they can transmit their data.

Active RFID Tags - Contains its own power source which has the advantage that the reader can be much farther away and receive the data from the Tag. They are typically larger than the passive RFID tags (to account for the battery) and also have a life span limited by the life of the battery. With active power as part of the RFID tag there is a boost in the effective operating range of the tag, i.e. they can transmit their data over a farther distance compared to the "Passive" version. The inclusion of the power also includes the ability of the RFID device to acquire data while in transit such as environmental statistics, handling movement and transit paper trail.

ShipDAS implements Active RFID and uses the PowerTag software to determine which parameters are to be available thru the RFID communication interface. Any of the ShipDAS data collected and any of the shipping information (shipping start location, destination, serial numbers, part numbers, etc) can be easily tagged as RFID data. Since ShipDAS is a powered system, it extends the distance for RFID sensors to read information. In addition to extending the signal range, the powered system also provides an RFID signal with much improved signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio than standard RFID implementations which means it provides more reliable readings and the ability to operate in more harsh and/or EMC noisy environments. PowerTag technology embedded in ShipDAS allows for complete configuration of the RFID data and operation.

ShipDAS Includes easy-to-use configuration software with PowerTag technology!

With the embedded PowerTag software you can select the data files that are of interest for ShipDAS to record. Using its embedded microprocessor and non-volatile memory, ShipDAS can record data files of Temperature, Humidity, Vibration and Shock. PowerTag lets you easily select the ShipDAS data files to configure, including the type of data to acquire, the method of sampling (discrete time or continuous) and the criteria of recording (maximum/minimum thresholds, spike level, upward/downward trend, etc).

With PowerTag technology embedded in the product, it can be used to select information to record including product part numbers, serial numbers, lot numbers. At the point of shipment the shipper uses PowerTag to select the files to update and fills in shipment information including:

Product Part Numbers
Product Serial Numbers
Lot Numbers
Shipping Source Location
Receiving Destination Location
Customs, duties and waybill information
RFID response information - allows the user to select which data files are transmitted via RFID

Once the product information is selected and the data files filled in with the proper information, PowerTag allows the user to select critical environmental criteria to monitor and record including:

Temperature
Relative Humidity (RH)
Shock (in g's)
Vibration
Acceleration
Motion (individually selected for each of the 6 degrees of freedom: x, y, z, tilt, roll, yaw)

PowerTag also allows for easy selection of data files to set limits and/or perform calculations and analysis. For example, if your equipment needs to be kept within a particular temperature range, then with PowerTag you can select the upper and lower limit. ShipDAS then continuously monitors the temperature and automatically records the time and location via GPS of all temperature data that falls outside of the pre-selected range. With PowerTag you can select the thresholds for all of the different environmental conditions to monitor including Temperature, Humidity, Shock and Vibration. With ShipDAS and PowerTag, events and conditions that might otherwise go unnoticed can be captured for later analysis and evaluation.

Continuous Running or Time-Sampled
Upper and/or Lower limits for any of the data being monitored
Data Averaging
Maximums and Minimums
Trending over extended periods of time
Time, Date and Location stamp the data

PowerTag not only facilitates the selection of the data to acquire and how to report the data, it also embeds tagged information into each data sample acquired. As an example, each accelerometer measurement is acquired using a 16 bit resolution Analog-to-Digital converter. Since PowerTag allows the user to select how many channels to acquire and which ones to acquire some method has to exist to match the data acquired with the particular accelerometer. This is done with "tag data" that is appended to the A/D sample data and is a very powerful feature of PowerTag.

Includes powerful LabPac32 software library!

LabPac32 is a sophisticated 32-bit kernel mode device driver and DLL function library that will optimize your Windows based research and industrial applications. Simple functions handle event counting, precision timing, analog input, analog output, digital input and digital output. LabPac32 uses a standard Dynamic Link Library (DLL) as the Application Programming Interface (API) allowing any language that runs under Windows 98, 2000 or XP access to its various functions. LabPac works with a wide assortment of tools and programming language vendors, such as Visual Basic®, Visual C++®, Borland® Delphi®, Borland C++, Java, and Java-enabled tools. Because LabPac is supported by many different languages and tools, it enables developers with varied backgrounds and expertise to expand their creative talents using the tools they are familiar with and understand and can leverage the knowledge and work of the development community without a steep learning curve -- net result, developers can build upon the familiar tools and technology they know and be productive immediately.

LabPac Functions Include:

Develop general or specialized Data Acquisition & Control applications
Optimized for speed and flexibility
32-bit ring-0 Kernel Mode Device Driver
Multi-language support
Timed interval processes
Trigger functions on external events
Supports hardware interrupts & BusMaster operations
Standard LabPac32.DLL interface across all Scientific Solutions Hardware

The LabPac32 software library along with the Kernel Mode Device Driver allows rapid custom application development that extends the use of ShipDAS from out-of-the box to semi-custom or even a full-custom application.

ShipDAS loves to travel, but is equally happy staying in one spot!

Although ShipDAS was designed primarily for monitoring and recording data during unattended travel, it also has merit for static applications such as diagnosing and evaluating interior environments. ShipDAS can be placed out of the way, in hard to reach areas or in hazardous locations to collect data in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. ShipDAS can help to establish a baseline and determine energy-saving opportunities and can monitor system changes to evaluate the effectiveness of changes. Applications including collecting information about heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration system performance; energy efficiency and use; indoor air quality; power consumption; and electric light demand. With the LabPac software interface, a custom application can be created that not only collects data, but can evaluate the data and help determine energy-saving opportunities and recommend system changes.

ShipDAS Product


Part Number	Image	Product Overview
812050		ShipDAS Data Logger Product Includes: ShipDAS unit 6 ft. cable for computer connection PowerTag Software Win-32 devices drivers and LabPac32 library Features Include: 8 fault tolerant channels of accelerometer MicroDot Connections Signal Conditioning Tunable Anti-Alaising Filter 16 bit A/D with simultaneous sampling Dual Dedicated Temperature and Humidity inputs On-board GPS with external antenna connection On-board RFID with extended distance support Flash memory storage of data for long-term unattended operation

Specifications subject to change without notice.

Scientific Solutions liability, trademarks, and export notices apply.

Scientific Solutions ® Inc.

ShipDAS ® Data-Logger

Includes LabPac® and PowerTag®