News
Want Alarms and KPIs real-time on your iPhone?
iMV
Wireless technology is ubiquitous, and the acceptance of 3G mobile communications has allowed users to have access to information services that had once been the stuff of science fiction. Sentient Computing recognised that coupling MacroView's existing robust data server with leading edge flexible and powerful software technology, would allow something special to be created.
In an area that has been difficult for even the major vendors to release successful products, Sentient has developed something special - iMV.
Without requiring any special infrastructure, and also without modification to your existing MacroView system, iMV can give you instant and personal access to those critical values and KPIs from your plant. We have come up with a streamlined and simple app which recognises the general expectations of quick call-up and attractive, no fuss access to information.
We haven't tried to provide full SCADA functionality because frankly, it doesn't offer much satisfaction on a PDA screen. Sentient realises that a PDA user's experience of SCADA information does not need to mimic the experience of a control room operator (you don't expect the news headlines on a mobile device to be just like a newspaper).
Using the Apple iPhone™ with its clever and well-accepted user interface technology and highly flexible programming facilities, our iMV application gives you a low cost, quick, low bandwidth, instantaneous option to view your data - just like checking the news headlines.
It can be done either using your own secure corporate wireless network, or carried across a commercial 3G mobile telephone network. How does it work? The iMV app is configured to call data using the same access request as a standard MacroView client display, so the requests are based on standard networking addressing and technology, and no special software need be added to existing systems.
Salient points:- MacroView's underlying data server "metaserver" has a structure which already allows simple access to data using URL-type tag location, so we could harness one of the main benefits of web technology: straightforward access to data - worldwide.
- MacroView already supports highly efficient push technology, which means that your iPhone only receives data when something changes. This is managed by the server and thus the communications bandwidth is as low as it can possibly be.
- No new software modules or licenses are required on your MacroView server - just metaserver - and that's free!
- No configuration changes are required on your MacroView system. You just decide which points to access from iMV.
- We have chosen a state-of-the-art development platform, so you can use our app or we can take your requirements and give you a customised function, look and feel.
- Our products already support web-based access, so that functionality is already possible from an iPhone without iMV. This means that we don't need to wrap our iMV app in html to get it to work. This means it responds quicker, and does not rely on web servers.
- Access to traditional existing operator displays from a small screen is barely functional, so iMV does not try to mimic existing SCADA displays.
- iMV does not rely on terminal services because they consume bandwidth, complicate user interactions and tend to consume screen real estate too.
- Communications and security requirements are the same as for corporate PDA usage (i.e. push e-mail and intranet access) which are already in place and accepted by CIOs.
- iMV will not be costly to deploy.
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Why not get "morning headlines" from the plant?
Just pick your "favourites" to keep an eye on.
Provide a KPI window to managers without them coming to the control room.
Are you monitoring some freshly commissioned gear? Just see the numbers you need.
Older equipment giving trouble? - choose a watch list of important parameters.
Waiting for the plant to settle down - maybe have another watch list?
Note: If you use CitectSCADA (another non MacroView system), but like the idea of iMV, we can develop a MetaServer for your SCADA that will achieve the same functionality.
