today announced the introduction of a series of wireless communication solutions for smart utility metering. Smart metering solutions enable utility companies to collect data on energy and water consumption, and consumers to make smart choices about their energy use.

Based on the Fastrack Supreme Wireless CPU® from Sierra Wireless, a programmable application hosting platform with cellular modem capabilities, Outpost Central has developed a range of intelligent GPRS/EDGE metering gateways, designed to provide customers with the real time information they need to efficiently manage their water and energy resources.

The Fastrack Supreme is a rugged, industrial Wireless CPU®, programmable via any combination of AT commands, ANSI C/C++ and Lua. It comes with an open-standard interface which allows developers to add supplementary I/O connectivity and functionalities in the form of expansion cards. By designing custom expansion cards for the Fastrack Supreme, Outpost Central has created three compact smart metering solutions, each with different physical hardware interfaces to meters and sensors.

The Outpost Aura-MG Industrial Meter Logger is a 3-channel GPRS/EDGE data logger, with one channel each for a pulse-output meter, a 0-20mA sensor and an NTC temperature probe.

Also based on Fastrack Supreme, the Outpost Aura-AG Industrial RS-485/232 Module is an industrial intelligent web-connected data logger with terminal blocks. It contains a Modbus logger for logging registers on Modbus slave devices connected via RS232 or RS485, and sends logged data periodically to the web server for analysis.

Finally, the Outpost Aura-CG™ Wavenis GSM/GPRS Gateway connects Coronis Wavenis meters and sensors directly to servers over the Internet via the GPRS/EDGE communication capabilities of the Fastrack Supreme.

In all of these gateways, intelligent firmware ensures persistent WAN (Wide Area Network) connectivity under adverse geographical and weather conditions, and allows for different modes of operation. For maximum simplicity, customers can read meters and sensors and configure the gateway using simple text based instructions sent via GPRS or SMS. For access to more sophisticated functions, Outpost Central proposes a Managed Service Mode in which meter and sensor data are displayed in web-served graphs and reports according to user-selected application templates, or forwarded to third party databases, and the gateway is managed directly from a password-protected web console.

“Our mission is to connect the world's meters and sensors to the web, in order to provide our customers with relevant real time information,” said Jedd Forbes, Director at Outpost Central. “The versatility and ease of use of the Fastrack Supreme made it the perfect platform for our GSM/GPRS/EDGE metering gateways, and allowed us to save money and time to market by concentrating on our own value add: the interfaces with meters and sensors and our powerful web tools.

Jin Pak, Vice President Asia Pacific Sales at Sierra Wireless, added: “We are very pleased that Outpost Central selected the Fastrack Supreme for their metering gateways. Efficient energy use is a political priority all over the world, and Outpost Central’s products are providing utility companies and consumers with the information they need to achieve this goal. At Sierra Wireless, we are delighted that our wireless expertise can contribute to protecting the environment.”


About Outpost Central

Outpost Central products connect meters and sensors to the web to enable our customers to manage their water and energy resources. OutpostCentral.com is a powerful web based tool for water and energy data analysis and interfaces to meters and sensors through our range of web connected hardware.

About Sierra Wireless

Sierra Wireless products connect people and machines to wireless networks around the world. We offer an advanced, comprehensive product line, addressing consumer, enterprise, original equipment manufacturer, and specialized vertical industry markets. We also offer a wide range of professional and operated services. Our solutions are used for mobile computing, transportation, industrial M2M (machine-to-machine), enterprise, residential and consumer communications applications.


Information Source:    Sierra Wireless