Client
FOS&S (Fibre Optic Sensors & Sensing Systems) specialises in the design, manufacture and distribution of sensors and sensing systems based on the Fibre Bragg Grating property of fibre optics.
Project
FOS&S wanted to build a handheld interrogator using a powerful spectrometer module provided by its partner AXSUN. A specific application running on a PDA would have to analyse the results of the spectrography.
The specific constraints were mainly to:
- Develop a "product" ready to be manufactured in less than 4 months
- Use a PDA (with PocketPC) that can be easily plugged in/out as a user interface
- Optimise power management to get a truly stand-alone handheld device with acceptable autonomy
Solutions
DELTATEC designed the SpectralEye, a high performance stand-alone handheld interrogation device.
The heart of the design is a spectrometer module that connects to a host through a serial link. Powerful energy management is achieved by using the latest available technologies to implement power supply conversion, switching and monitoring. The system is supplied with a built-in Li-Ion battery with associated intelligent charger. A micro-controller ensures all monitoring, alarms, on/off control and many other pleasant features.
A complete custom package was designed in-house, starting with carefully selected and affordable small-series technologies. The built-in electronic boards and optic components are assembled around a specific aluminium chassis that is also used as heatsink. The outer case is in plastic molding. The top of the case includes a sliding tray that holds the PDA in position. A simple push on a button and the PDA can be extracted for normal use. An appealing finish was achieved by using a soft-touch black paint and a membrane sticker.
The device is controlled by the Pocket PC application running on the built-in PDA (HP iPAQ). It can launch mesure campaigns and log or display the result in terms of wavelength power peak detection, power spectrum and much more.
This product is considered to be a significant breakthrough on that market, opening new horizons to fibre optic sensoring. It is currently manufactured by DELTATEC.