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60 MMS June 2014 mmsonline.com quality gaging tips Columnist I don't know if you've noticed it yet, but there's a revolution going on in the pe rsonal he alth monitoring industr y. Products are coming to market now that link sensors to your phone and enable you to track your personal fitness. What- ever facet of a workout you want to monitor— speed, distance and altitude, pulse, temperature, breathing, or personal per formance—there is an app out there that monitors the appropriate sensors and collects the information for real- time monitoring. All of this is possible because of new wireless technology that was developed specifically for the medical industry. Now in its second genera- tion, this wireless technology, known as ANT+, is established in a unique position within the ultra-low-power wireless industry. It was designed from the ground up to establish a personal net- work of sensors that can be scaled up into a complex network of devices. Besides having ultra-low power consumption, ANT+ offers a number of other unique advantages. The first is the ability of a single receiver to accept the signals from a large number of transmitters without transmission "collisions" as the data is being shared. And if more are added or others are removed, the receiver and display will continue to receive data from the others. For sport and fitness applications, this many- to-one technology is a perfect application. For example, in an indoor cycling/spinning class, all the wearers can have their personal data col- lected for comparison to others in the class. Or, in road-running races, each participant's data can also be individually monitored and collected. For these applications, long battery life, portabil- ity and good transmission range are essential, and the ANT+ technology delivers. This same technology is ideal for creating individual data collection networks in the shop w he n m e a sur ing pa r ts. Prev iousl y, w ire le s s gaging setups would have one receiver in a shop and multiple gaging transmitters with long trans- mission capabilities (and associated high power consumption) that sent data to the master receiver. Now, the benefits of personal network technol- ogy can change that. First, the cost of both the transmitter and receiver are significantly less with ANT+. Second, they are small enough and draw so little power that they can be integrated right into the gaging device. Therefore it's now both possible and eco- nomic al to cre ate de dic ate d data colle ction stations for each technician making measure- ments. Most workstations in today's modern shops already have PCs in place. With low-cost receivers, each workstation can now become the operator's unique network for data collection. Or, it can just help get rid of a tangle of wires. T h i s te c h n o l o g y i s i d e a l fo r b e n c h to p o r inspection-room data collection systems. In these applications, the distances are not great, but there could be numerous measurements going on simultaneously, and it is critical for them Building Your Shop's Personal Data Network Wireless technology is ideal for creating individual data collection networks when measuring parts. GEORGE SCHUETZ Mahr Federal Inc. Contact George Schuetz on MMS Online at mmsonline.com/ experts/schuetz.html. 0614_MMS_qualitygaging.indd 60 5/13/2014 4:31:42 PM