Level measurement

Level measurement in the IoT world with LoRa

The VEGAPULS Air Radar sensors offer 80 GHz measuring frequency, high dynamic range and remote access.

THE INTERNET OF Things (IoT) concept is spreading into every industry, indeed into every aspect of people’s lives. The global IoT market size is valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, and expert consensus forecasts further rapid growth. The IoT’s physical layer is represented by the devices that gather information about the real world – sensors. These sensors are connected to the Internet, and the data obtained becomes available for processing, opening up a multitude of applications.

In conventional instrumentation and automation the sensors are connected and operated by locallycontrolled equipment. A number of technologies are available in the market to switch the connectivity to the IoT. One such technology is LoRa.

LoRa (from long range) is a lowpower widearea network (LPWAN) that allows connecting sensors to a single access gateway over a large distance – more than 10km range. Its support for lowpower protocol allows these sensors to run on batteries for extended period of times – for years.

To help visualise, consider a WiFi network at home. The router is plugged into the electricity socket, and connected to the Internet. LoRa, acting as the gateway just like a router, is powered and connected to the Internet. The devices are wireless, batterypowered sensors that are equipped with appropriate LoRa radio module. Such devices within a few kilometres’ range can connect to the LoRa and send the data online.

Instrumentation meets LoRa: 10 years of measurement on a battery

VEGA, the leading manufacturer of Radar level sensors from Germany, brings to the market the autarkic LoRaready Radar level sensor –VEGAPULS Air series. VEGA Radars encompass stateoftheart technologies, such as 80 GHz measuring frequency, high dynamic range and smart electronics with remote access.

The VEGAPULS Air sensor is mounted above the measured media, for example, on top of a tank, silo, waste bin, or above a water body – no cables or power supply are required. Once activated, the device spends most of its lifetime in sleep mode. At selected intervals the device wakes up, performs the measurement, transmits the data, and goes back to sleep. The data transmission intervals are from onceperday to onceper15minutes. The corresponding battery life ranges from a couple years to over a decade. The IP 66/68 rating makes the device suitable for practically any location, indoors or outdoors, in wet or dusty environment.

The solutions are perfect for applications where gradual level changes are monitored, for instance, sea level during day or night cycles and throughout a year, the water level in a dam reservoir, lake or river, or the height of dunes next to a controlled area. VEGAPULS Air is especially suitable for inventory monitoring and logisticsrelated applications. Consider a diesel tank in a remote location that is refilled a couple of times a month. Perhaps distance is a factor and is lesser priority to lay cables, install a conventional level sensor and connect it to the local DCS. Yet, if it is not refilled on time, the impact is significant. The solution – install the LoRaenabled Radar level sensor, and monitor the diesel level online at any time, and receive warning notifications once the level is low.

This holds true for any remote location that may need monitoring, such as a septic tank to know when to send the truck, a water cistern to know when to order a delivery, trash containers to ascertain which need collection the same day or could wait until the next day and stormwater canalisation – monitor wells that get blocked with sand and need a cleaning team.

Other IoT connectivity technologies such as NBIoT SIMcards, also supported by VEGAPULS Air devices, are available. Yet LoRa is the only one that works fully on userowned private equipment and network. It needs no reliance on coverage by the service provider, instead, it has a unique gateway and sensors. Data can be retrieved from PCs or mobile devices. ■

VEGA radars encompass 80GHz frequency and high range.

The VEGAPULS Air sensor is perfect for applications where gradual level changes are monitored.

Photo Credit : VEGA