Recommended Testing, Evaluation and Experimentation

Now with data flowing from sensor to gateway and gateway to cloud, you can experiment with the sensors to see the power of energy harvesting! We have outlined several out-of-the-box tests to evaluate the Dev Kit below

Testing & Experimentation

1. 1. .

      • Sensor testing:

        • The ENV+ Eversensor is like a mini-weather station that reports temperature, humidity, and pressure that can fit in the palm of your hand.

        • We recommend moving the sensor to different areas and rooms to see how temperature, humidity, and pressure changes based on placement. The sensor reports all data streams – and other sensor status parameters – once a minute! If the application requires lower light, these data streams can be collected in five (5) minute intervals. This helps show the he trade-offs in low light environments and how the sensor adapts to vary harvesting parameters.

        • There is also a low-powered accelerometer onboard! So, it will also report when the sensor has moved with a timestamp and acceleration data showing the magnitude of shock the sensor experienced.

      • Harvesting testing:

        • What is unique about the ENV+ Eversensor is that there are no batteries – with sufficient harvesting the sensor can last forever!

        • Using low powered chips and low powered radios, the entire sensor can be powered by ambient light and can store excess harvested energy in a supercapacitor.

        • These levels are monitored by the two banks of capacitors. VCAP is used to boot the sensor and SCAP is used as a storage reservoir.

        • You can see these parameters and levels in the Sensor details page.

        • Place directly under light – see VCAP/SCAP build.

        • Now move the sensor to a dark area or remove light to test capacitor discharge.

        • Furthermore, you can change the gateway broadcast period from the Everactive dashboard which will reduce the amount of energy required for the sensor to operate.

          • For example, changing the gateway broadcast period to 300 seconds (5 minutes), then sensors can power themselves from light levels as low as 80 Lux.

          • Proceed to gateway management and click edit. Scroll down you can increase broadcast period. Default is 60 seconds. Make sure to click ‘Save’ and now you can experiment with lower light levels to see how the sensor performs under these conditions.

        • If the capacitors are full, the sensor could last over 16 hours without light!

      • Move/Shake testing:

        • As mentioned in the sensing test, the sensor also has a low powered accelerometer!

        • This capability enables you to detect shocks, drops, or sudden movements of the sensor that can detected, recorded, and sent to the cloud.

        • One test is to take two-sided adhesive and securely affix the sensor to an open door.

        • Abruptly close the door.

        • The acceleration measurement will be timestamped and the X,Y,Z magnitudes in milli-g’s will be reported.

      • Range testing:

        • Another Everactive advantage is the operation of Evernet in the sub-gHz band.

        • This gives the little sensor long range capabilities depending on the environment and gateway placement. We have seen effective ranges of 200 meters or more.

        • So, with energy in capacitor, take the sensor for a walk!

        • You can do distance testing with laptop and / or sensor, and move the sensor in incremental distances. This distance testing and effect can also be observed by employing radio attenuators to help simulate range.

        • This sub-gHz range is also good for penetrating through different obstacles when compared to other wireless protocols. For example, you can place laptop at Wifi access point and walk sensor with cellphone to edge of Wifi coverage and continue walking to check Wifi versus Evernet.

      • Additional testing:

        • As you familiarize yourself with the Dev Kit and the capabilities, be sure to share any additional tests that you discover and try.

        • We would love to hear from you and learning from your testing and evaluation.

        • Email tests and any accompanying pictures to developers@everactive.com