Fluid Monitoring Platform FAQ
We’ve had a ton of questions since inception, so we gathered a collection of them, some seem obvious, some are more quirky. Yours might find an answer here…
If it is not the case or you’re just curious or anything, please reach out, we’re always happy to chat.
No. All functionalities like remote alerts and remote access will stay free.
We may in the future offer a subscription for features that have a high impact over our cloud costs, for example continuous data updates pushed to the cloud such as location of voltage readings ( eg. 1 data point every 10 seconds ).
Historically we are leaning towards iOS. We want to give the best possible UI experience and so went native for iOS first.
We will of course at a later stage develop for Android. We are not the first to launch for iOS only. Philips Hue is a good example as it was iOS only at first.
This is highly depended on the environment, distance and materials in between. We have successfully conducted tests of up to 30 meters.
Most telecom operators in most countries offer mobile hotspots (Mi-Fi) prepaid long term recharges for under 100$ per year.
A Mi-Fi device can be purchased for under 50$. Just ask your local provider. The advantage is that you will then be able to use that connection for other purposes. Fluid uses very little data.
Yes. All components are capable of receiving remote updates. As new types of sensors will be released we will push the relevant updates required.
Fluid is multi-location, multi-Basestation compatible. For example you can have one for your caravan and one for your boat on a single account.
Battery and electrons are the lifeblood of many systems. They can be the cause of catastrophic failures on a multitude of systems and appliances. The costs of such failures can be significant. So we thought this was a good candidate for the first sensor type (and proven by real world experience)!
Yes. An account is required for the platform to operate. Creating an account with Fluid is free.
We have successfully tested 10 Sensors connected to a single Base Station. We still have a fair amount of headroom and will most likely increase that number with a future update after launch.
Yes. This is a crucial part of offering a solution that can be fixed and upgraded with more features. We are using 2 SOC chip types (Texas Instruments CC3220SF and CC2652R). We have implemented Over-The-Air capability for both.
Can rules be added and changed remotely or do I need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Base Station?
Yes. Every action can be performed remotely, exept for adding a new sensor and changing the Base Station’s network connections.
We are talking on average in microampere, not even milliampere. On a 12v 100 A⋅h battery the consumption is negligible. It will take years for the Sensor to deplete such a battery of 10%. If left uncharged such a battery will self deplete at a much faster rate. Our Sensor can operate from 5v to 30v. We have run our sensor on scrapyard batteries without trouble. That’s how little the Sensor uses. To Ensure we fulfil these requirements the LED will only be on during specific procedures, such as commissioning.
Yes, Fluid is compatible from 5v to 30 V.
Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz 802.11bgn.
All communications are encrypted on the local network as well as outside. Authentication is used and Binaries updates (OTA) are signed.
If the Base Station is powered by the same battery that its own sensor is monitoring, how can I ensure it is still running even with badly depleted batteries?
Just use a battery bank between your Base Station and your USB power source. This will ensure days of standalone operation thanks to the Base Station running on low power chips. The Sensor will still be running on 5 V. You will get an alert way way before reaching that point.
Yes. Since we are using a very low power soc (system on chip) with a ZigBee protocol we will be able to launch such sensor without any major refactoring.
Yes, as long as the sensor isn’t installed in the engine bay.
The Base Station is also powered from a 12 V battery how can I ensure it is still running even with badly depleted batteries?
Just use a battery bank between your Base Station and your USB power source. This will ensure days of standalone operation thanks to the Base Station running on low power chips. The Sensor will still be running on 5 V. You will get an alert way way before reaching that point.
Updates are recorded in the following events (at current development time):
– When a reading has met an alert condition ( steps into the rule’s trigger zone ).
– When a reading has pushed a rule out of it’s trigger zone.
– When a reading has pushed a rule out of it’s trigger zone.
– Once ever 12 hours.
– After a Sensor or Base Station boot up.
– After a Sensor has been added to an account
– After the Fluid App has come to the foreground.
– After a user refresh action in the iOS App.
We have been using the SD card for debugging purposes. It will not be used for the shipping product.
We are wanting to apply machine learning on the voltage curve which could lead to very exiting insights, such as long term battery degradation, engine hour clocking or faulty power clients. Anyway first thing first. What you can do now is know when your engine has started. Just set a first alert on a low voltage and a second alert of high voltage.
Let’s say your starter battery is 12.7 V at idle, when you crank the engine, the voltage will drop depending of the condition of the battery to, say under 12 V. You will then receive an alert. Once the engine has started the alternator will kick in and start charging the battery, it’s voltage will then be above 13 V voltage. You will then get a second alert which means your engine has been started and is running.
There are numerous scenarios on the voltage curve, get creative and you will be rewarded!
There’s three of us forming Fluid Automation PTY LTD (Australia): Victor Broido, Jawad Butt and Michael Fuhrmann. The team has a track record of successfully setting up new ventures for the past 20 years. We cover a wide set of skillsets covering coding, embedded programming, PCB design, UI design, implementation and cloud computing. Nothing in the Fluid project has been outsourced, we have done everything ourselves. We all live in Western Australia.
We are self funded. We have no external funding. Nobody can pull the plug on us. The project has been developed under an extremely lean financial budget. Discounting the time we have personally invested, we’ve had a pretty low and sustainable monthly burning rate (mainly just for PCB pre-production and cloud costs).
We want to be a long term viable company. We want to grow the platform to include more types of sensors, actuators (switch, relay), use machine learning on sensor readings and integrating all the components into a powerful asset monitoring platform.