National Instruments 9792 WSN gateway and WSN-3226 measurement node

National Instruments has announced two additions to the communication and measurement capabilities of the NI wireless sensor network (WSN) platform. The 9792 is a programmable WSN gateway that can communicate with NI WSN measurement nodes as well as other hardware through a variety of open communication standards, and the WSN-3226 voltage/resistance temperature detector (RTD) combination node provides support for resistance-based measurements such as RTDs and potentiometers and provides engineers and scientists the ability to combine voltage and temperature measurements on a single NI WSN device.

The 9792 gateway features a 533 MHz processor and 2 GB of on-board storage for embedded data logging applications. The gateway also features integrated web (HTTP) and file (FTP) servers, which makes it possible for remote access to measurement data from thin client devices such as smartphones and mobile computers. The 9792 also includes an RS232 serial port and dual ethernet ports.

The WSN-3226 measurement node adds resistance-based measurements to the NI WSN platform and features four analog input channels that can be configured on a per-channel basis for ±10 V measurements or resistive measurements. It also features two bidirectional digital channels that can be configured on a per-channel basis for input, sinking output or sourcing output. Additionally, the measurement node can be powered by four AA batteries, with an operational lifetime of up to three years, or externally powered with a 5 to 30 V supply, which offers improved efficiency for energy-harvesting applications.