Using Battery Powered devices to Track Run Hours

Our battery powered devices have built in functionality that allows for users to keep track of the device's run hours. 

Run hours is the total number of hours that an asset has been operating. On hard wired devices, this task is achieved by wiring the ignition line on the device to an ignition source. Once the ignition is turned on , the input detects this and the run hours is calculated based on the time the input remains ON.  

When a battery powered device detects that it is in motion, it will start a trip and will set the ignition digital input (Digital Input 0). This is called emulated ignition. Trips can be started based on:

• GPS movement (not possible for Edge devices and the Barra Core). If we move a set distance (default >250m) away from the start point, start a trip. If we are doing small laps back and forth in a yard, we won't accumulate hours. 
• Jostle Mode - if vibration is detected - i.e. engine/pump running (even in a fixed location) - start a trip and accumulate hours. (Recommended tracking mode for Run Hour Detection) - we refer to this as "Jostle Mode".

We recommend using jostle mode to track run hours. GPS movement based trip for devices such as the Remora3, Oyster3, and Yabby3, will not start trip based on small movements, hence those run hours will not be accumulated.

Limitations

While battery-powered devices can track run hours, there are some limitations given the device is not wired in.

• The device itself will not report Run Hour/Odometer values in its payload like the hard-wired devices (On-Device Odometer and Run Hours) - these readings are not accumulated on-board. Instead, they can be calculated server-side.
• The only methods to monitor when an asset is in use or not are covered above - GPS (Edge Devices and the Barra Core only) or Accelerometer movement. This is not reliable in every circumstance. For the readings to be reliable, there must be either of these types of movement when the asset is in use, and only then.
  For example, if we want to monitor run hours on a generator on site, we would want to configure the device for Jostle Trips (accelerometer-based) - as if it is stationary when in use we can't use GPS Trips. However, this would mean when the Generator is transported between sites on a truck - this will add to the run hours tally.

Set Up/ Parameters

The specific set of parameters that should be applied is dependent on the application - but these are the ones that should be considered for configuration.

GPS Devices

For battery powered devices, this applies to the Remora3, Remora3 Global, Oyster3, Oyster3 Global, Yabby3, and Barra GPS. 

Set Tracking Mode (Jostle Mode)

• Set the device to jostle-based tracking from the "Basic Tracking" parameter tab.
• If we only require recording of run hours - and are not interested in the trip history/updates - the only data points required are:
  • Trip Start Timestamp
  • Trip End Timestamp
• So, we may wish to increase the in-trip logging period and upload periods - to increase device battery life.
  • We can max out the in-trip logging period to 7620sec (~2hr)
  • We can disable in-trip uploads.

NOTE: Disabling in-trip uploads will result in the device not checking in for a significant amount of time if the trips are very long.

Accelerometer Setup: 

Some adjustments to the default accelerometer wakeup threshold may be required. These parameters determine what level of vibration is required to begin a trip. By default, it is fairly sensitive. If you are seeing false trip starts, try increasing both the Wakeup Threshold and Wakeup Count by 1-2 and checking if there is an improvement.

Defaults:

More aggressive vibration required for a trip start: