Tablets and Smartphones As Operating and Display Units for Sensors

Pepperl+Fuchs showed how smart sensors function as part of the "Internet of Things" at HMI 2015 in the "Sensor Technology 4.0 Arena." The approach is based on connecting sensors with network-ready communications. The SmartBridge product uses these extended communication channels and turns commercially available smartphones and tablets into user-friendly operating units for industrial sensors.

Operating and Display Concepts for Sensors

It is not only since Industry 4.0 that more intelligence has worked its way into the field level. Sensors are offering more and more configuration and adjustment options. As a result, it is almost inevitable that more powerful operating and display concepts are becoming necessary. The application of these concepts should not impair the function or timing of the sensor.

SmartBridge offers a solution for these tasks. The benefits of commercially available smartphones and tablets can be utilized for visualization, commissioning, maintenance, and servicing of sensors.

A Product Consisting of an Adapter and an App

The product consists of an adapter and an app for all common mobile devices.

The adapter is designed in IP67 with the M12 connectors that are commonly used in sensor technology and is connected in the supply cable. This enables an IO-Link connection to be established with the sensor. Parameters and measured values can be read out from this connection. The adapter sends this data to the mobile devices wirelessly via Bluetooth.

The SmartBridge app turns Apple mobile devices or those with the Android operating system into convenient operating and display units.
The app lists all adapters or sensors that are within the detection range of the mobile device. Once a device is selected, the app shows graphics of its most important data on user-friendly pages.

Alternatively, it is possible to switch to a numerical view, in which all sensor parameters and data are displayed in full.

To guarantee manufacturer-independence and ensure that the app can be expanded, the IODD file that exists for each IO-Link-compatible device is used to create the sensor-specific pages. An update function in the app can be used to load these files.

Wide Range of Applications

Potential applications include a temporary display unit, an analysis instrument for troubleshooting and diagnostics, a tool for managing sensor parameterization, or long-term logging of sensor data to capture effects that occur sporadically.