Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021 - ST-13

properties of the air/gas mixture that are
measured by the transducer.
A Systems Approach to Personal
Safety Monitoring
Universal Site Monitoring (USM) -
Darwin NT, Australia - has designed
and developed an integrated system of
wearable personal safety monitoring
devices, communications hubs, and
reporting and management software.
The Hero hand-held Personal Safety
Monitor comes in a standard version,
model 825, and an ATEX /IECEx certified
version, model 715. It detects
Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrogen
Sulfide (H2S), explosive gases (LEL),
and Oxygen (O2), using catalytic sensors.
It includes microcontrollers, gas
sensors, a temperature sensor, an
accelerometer, a gyroscope, a speaker
for audible alarms, a cellular module,
GNSS, and Zigbee.
The gas sensors use an external analog-to-digital
converter (ADC) module,
which converts the analog output from
the sensors to a digital format. The digital
data is transferred to a microcontroller
using an I2C serial communication
protocol.
The accelerometer and gyroscope,
together with the GNSS, are used to determine
the worker's position, speed over
ground, elevation, slips, trips, and falls.
The Universal Data Interface (UDI)
smart alert and navigation system is a
web-based application developed for the
control room, to monitor the live data
coming from the Personal Safety
Monitor. The Personal Safety Monitor
displays all the data on an LCD screen
and sends it to the Universal Data
Interface for real-time monitoring, analytics,
configuring, and communication,
using the available network, either cellular,
GNSS, or Zigbee. The company has
combined the hardware and the
Universal Data interface (UDI) smart
alert and navigation software into a connected
worker safety solution with integrated
2G/3G/4G cellular connectivity.
Triggers and alarms can be set
remotely from a control room for a high
or low concentration of gas detection,
and the level of alarms can also be configured
according to the requirements
of the site. The remote operator can
Sensor Technology, October 2021
Cov
Figure 3. Universal Data Interface (Courtesy Universal Site Monitoring)
Figure 4. Biometric Monitor. (Courtesy Universal Site Monitoring)
define different stages of alarms, critical
or warning alarms, and can set them in
response to specific concentrations of
the four detected gases. For example,
the user can set the warning trigger/
alarm in response to 10 PPM of carbon
monoxide or below or can change the
alarm level from warning to critical in
response to a 100 PPM of carbon
monoxide or above.
Clip-On Gas Sensor
The more advanced Molecular
Property Spectrometer (MPS) sensor
technology has been used in USM's Low
Energy (BLE) Clip-On Gas Sensors. This
sensor is certified, stable, immune to
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
poisoning and doesn't require calibration.
It can detect up to fifteen flammable
LEL gases, as well as hydrogen,
atmospheric pressure, temperature, and
humidity. The Clip-On allows end-users
to monitor gas risks in the field by connecting
their mobile phone fleet to the
Universal Data Interface by using the
mobile General Asset Monitor application
for Android and iOS devices.
Biometric Monitor
USM is also developing an intrinsically
safe Biometric Monitor, which senses
workers' blood oxygen, heart rate, and
body temperature. The data is transmitted
in real time to the Universal Data
13
http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/79418-936
Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021
