The ORE Blog is the location for occasional announcements. Hope you find something useful here.
February 9, 2021
An announcement will be available shortly about memory cards and battery life as well as a pending software update.
March 17, 2020
Well, there is an old saying about “the best laid plans of mice and men”. That saying precisely describes the Version 4.2 update outlined in the previous blog post. While doing that update, it was noticed that acceleration sensor manual recommended a particular setting for the way that ORE uses the sensor. That setting was changed, and lacking much detail, the sensor output was not scrutinized with much care. That was a really bad decision!
When the recommended change was added, the whole sensor output format changed. It then behaved as if sampled at 250ms intervals. The result was that the outputs on all axes became “steppy” at sample rates of 4 per second or faster. This was really obvious at the fastest sample rate of 25Hz.
A new Version 4.3 corrects this and slightly simplifies how sensor data is read from the sensor and converted to the data that is stored on the SD card memory. An apparent byproduct of this new version is substantially improved battery life. Current tests suggest a battery life in excess of 45 days and possibly as good as 60 days. In all fairness, however, we cannot tell if this is just variation from one memory card to another, or if it is truly a consequence of the upgrade.
In any case, if your ORE AL101 is V1.0 or V1.1, we strongly recommend upgrading to V1.3. ORE will supply you with a small device that will reprogram your units. To the extent allowed by customs for international customers, it will be at no cost to you. Where possible, we would like the programmer to be returned and will include a prepaid return envelope for that purpose. This offer will stand for any AL101s with serial numbers smaller than 11027. You can find the serial number written on the back of your accelerometer.
This information is provisional until the battery life test is complete. Notification will be provided as soon as that test is finished.
It should be mentioned that data taken with V4.2 firmware is still valid. If set to sample at greater than 4Hz. it will simply behave as if 4Hz, anyway, with repeating values for intervals up to 250ms.
December 26, 2019
One of ORE’s customers just pointed out an unpleasant situation: recorded temperatures in AL101 V1.1 devices are incorrect! No matter how the actual temperature changes, the reported value hovers around 25C. This was rapidly traced to a missing line in a temperature averaging routine. The line was added and tested overnight; as expected, it worked the way it should have!
That customer is getting a new, updated, AL101, Version 4.2. All units that had been prepared for shipment have been updated. All customers who have purchased AL101s are being notified of their options to leave units unchanged, to do the update themselves with a programmer provided by ORE, or to have units returned to ORE for updating, at our cost. If you have an AL101 and do not receive notification by January 10, 2020, please contact ORE, directly.
November 23, 2019
ORE participated in a local “high tech expo” on the Oregon State University campus on November 21. Several hundred people attended and there were around 30 exhibitors ranging from Hewlett Packard (has an R&D facility in Corvallis) to startups to high school robotics clubs. About a dozen folks stopped at our booth and asked about accelerometers. We mostly gained community and industry name recognition as well as established contacts with local tech support businesses. In all, it was a very positive experience for us.
October 25, 2019
ORE will be participating in the Willamette Innovator Network’s “Innovation Expo”. It happens on November 21, 2109 at the Alumni Center on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon. It is open from 5PM until 8PM and does not cost anything for visitors. Stop by and visit ORE and the other folks who will be exhibiting there.
October 18, 2019
The new web site has been moved out of its development cubby hole and into the big-time world-wide-web. A shopping cart will be added, but the key pieces are here. Thank you WordPress! Product development continues. Please use the Contact Us if you find anything that needs fixing or something that should be added.
August 28, 2019
Several new things are in the works, as this is being written:
- The AL102 is well along. It provides an added triggered mode. This allows it to sit in a low power state until some movement (magnitude is an operator setting) occurs. Then it starts recording for a user-set time. If new trigger movement happens while it is recording, that timeout is extended. The challenge, at this point, is separating out small changes from the large background gravity acceleration. This will become ORE’s primary product.
- AL102X is an AL102 with external power. It will, for example, provide operation for a year using a common 7AHr sealed lead acid 12V battery. It will run from 4.5V to 35V, which means it can be installed in a vehicle. A configuration option starts recording as soon as power is supplied, removing the need for a supervising operator to initiate operation in vehicle applications. The board has been laid out. Small changes will be needed to the AL102 code, so it has to wait until the AL102 is finished.
- Plans are being made for an AL103 & AL103X. These are “value added” devices that are calibrated for sensitivity and offset on all 3 axes. They will exist in parallel with the AL102 and AL102X and will have a small cost premium. The calibration constants will be presented in each data file header as CSV records so that you can easily use them in your own data processing.
- A mounting bracket has been designed for use on trees. This bracket is secured with bungee cords, so that there is no damage to the tree. The AL102 can be removed and replaced with minimal orientation changes. It will also work with AL100 and AL101. This is a simple device and DIY plans will be available for anyone who wishes to make their own.
- AL200 planning is underway. The goal is to provide modular IO, including wireless (BlueTooth, WiFi, and others) as well as wired (USB, RS232, RS485, and others). There will be several choices for data storage and power. One goal is to use the same IP-65 enclosure that is presently used for the AL101.
This should keep the ORE staff busy for a while!
Updated as of the most recent blog post date.