d-Mesh is an affordable 900MHz and 2.4GHz wireless option to what is normally available to the mining and civil sectors. It is YieldPoint’s upload and telemetry solution for digital geotechnical instrumentation networks. The system wirelessly enables an array of d4Logger dataloggers and establishes a link with the nearest Ethernet Access Point using the d-Mesh GateWay.
The 900MHz wireless technology is based on Digi International’s industry leading Xbee 900HP radios. The radio have a line-of-sight range of several kilometers/miles on surface and up to 1km/3,000ft in underground excavations. The relatively powerful radio units form a low power mesh network thanks to a synchronized sleep routine: the radios wake up briefly and only when required to report readings, ensuring a battery life up to 1 year.
Each d-Mesh network comprises a single gateway which manages an array of self-configuring and potentially self-healing wireless nodes, depending on the configuration. The system is designed to be plug-and-play, building on YieldPoint’s modular d-Logger solution which requires minimal configuration and will operate out-of-the-box. The mesh becomes more reliable with an increase in the number of nodes. Nodes operate as repeaters, with data loggers attached or not. The d-Mesh gateway enables either manual download or regulated automated download of instrumentation data.
d-Mesh is the ideal solution for remote data access in mining and civil projects. The cost of the telemetry solution will always be much lower than the cost of the actual geotechnical instrumentation.
Features:
- Geotechnical monitoring telemetry for mining and civil applications
- 900MHz Xbee radio packaged in waterproof enclosure
- Runs Digimesh firmware
- Industrial design with -40° C to 85° C operating temperature
- Superior outdoor LOS range of 500m underground
- Over-the-air firmware updates via other XBee-PRO 900HP
- modems/modules or Digi Device Cloud
- Software-selectable channel mask for interference immunity
- RF Data throughput up to 200 Kbps
- Very low cost solution
Technology:
In building d_Mesh YieldPoint has leveraged the expertise of Digi International Inc., the world’s leader in mesh radio communications. Our solution is proprietary but uses readily available radio modules so that interested parties can develop a solution to their own requirements. The radios themselves, operating at 900MHz and at 2.4GHz, have a proven line-of-sight range of up to 1,000m/3000ft underground. Power consumption is reduced by minimizing the duty-cycle and waking the radios for minimal periods of time when a data download is required.
The d-mesh node simply pulls into the data logger Com port and is powered by the 4xD cell batteries of a d-4Logger, or externally.
Software:
d-Mesh is Windows software solution that enables d4Loggers to be either (i) remotely downloaded across the wireless mesh, or (ii) autonomously downloaded at predefined regular intervals. A wireless mesh can be deployed in minutes, either as an addition to an existing cluster of d4Loggers or as part of a brand new system. The mesh radios are low priced with one radio required for each d4Logger which can collect data from 4 YieldPoint instruments. This concept keeps the telemetry prices much lower than those of the instruments they monitor. Power for the radios resides in the d4Logger and all Xbee API packetization is provided by existing d4Loggers without an upgrade. A d-Mesh software is available at no charge on the YieldPoint website.