<p>On radar level gauges currently shipped by Saab Rosemount, some adjustments of the unit's parameters has to be performed in the field. Presently, this is a cumbersome procedure; the operator has to be very close to the gauge and he either has to carry with him a bulky configuration unit or use a basic control unit on the gauge. A wireless solution, where a portable device and a receiver replace the control unit, would both allow the operator to work from a distance and eliminate the need for the bulky device. </p><p>The most conspicuous restraint for such a solution is a very low allowed power dissipation. The reason for this is that some gauges do not have a separate power supply, but are fed directly off the communication bus. A viable solution should also be commercially available and robust enough to operate in an industrial environment. </p><p>To meet these requirements both a theoretical and a practical assessment was conducted, where the two techniques for wireless communication, IrDA, and Bluetooth, was given special consideration. As for the portable device, the market for hand-held computers was investigated and ultimately a PDA from Palm was selected for this project. Together with this PDA, a prototype for each of the two wireless techniques was tested to ascertain their performance with respect to power dissipation, communication range, and communication robustness. </p><p>This investigation revealed that Bluetooth could be used over a much greater distance than IrDA and it did also provide a more robust solution overall. IrDA is nonetheless also a competent technique, and has its primary advantage in terms of much lower power dissipation compared to Bluetooth.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:liu-2045 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Söderkvist, Jonas |
| Publisher | Linköping University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Institutionen för systemteknik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
| Relation | LiTH-ISY-Ex, ; 3411 |
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