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Wireless Data Collectors Ensure Proper Climate for Rare and Precious Items at RoboVault
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July 22nd 2010 - World’s most
advanced storage facility uses Onset hobo data nodes to ensure proper climate
for rare and precious collectibles BOURNE, MA – When your primary worker is a
70-ton robot, you try your best to stay out of its way. Such is the case at
RoboVault, a high tech storage facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which uses
the largest and tallest robotic crane in the United States to move exotic
vehicles and other precious items that it houses for clients worldwide. Items are stored a minimum of 30 feet above
sea level in an area of the warehouse where there is no human access – there are
no staircases or elevator to the storage floors.Since the facility also stores rare
paintings, historic documents, vintage wine, antiques, forensic evidence, sports
memorabilia and other climate-sensitive items, RoboVault carefully monitors the
humidity and temperature within its hurricane-proof walls. But each time a
human enters the vault to check environmental readings, the automated robot
must halt its work to ensure safety.To put an end to this disruptive practice, RoboVault
recently installed Onset’s Hobo Data Nodes, portable devices that measure the
climate at the self-storage facility. Now RoboVault employees can see in real
time any changes that occur in temperature or humidity, without having to enter
the vault, because the remote network of nodes sends the climate data
wirelessly to an office computer. “We need to maintain climatic conditions that are conducive for the longevity of items that are rare and valuable. So we have to ensure on a daily basis that there are no issues with our climate control systems. Transmitting the data to our office is so much more convenient than sending a person down to check temperature and humidity manually every day,” says Marvin Chaney, RoboVault’s President and Chief Operating Officer. In addition to temperature and relative humidity, the Hobo data nodes can accommodate sensors that measure air conditioning voltage, amperage, kilowatts, kilowatt hours, gauge pressure, and more. One network contains up to 100 nodes, creating a self-healing system that can monitor many different points. Thus, the Hobo data nodes are ideal for storage facilities, museums and office buildings. RoboVault placed its data nodes throughout the 155,000 square foot storage facility to monitor the environment in special modules for wine, vehicles, and other items as well as safe deposit boxes. The data system allows RoboVault to make sure the building maintains a museum quality climate of 72 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity around 50 percent. In its wine storage units, the temperature is 55 degrees with humidity levels of between 68 and 70 percent. HOBO data nodes work together in a wireless network to send logged data automatically to a remote computer at regular intervals. Because of this feature, Hobo data nodes offer greater convenience than conventional, standalone data loggers, which must be retrieved and returned for manual offloading into a computer. The data nodes come with advanced software for data management, called HOBOnode Manager, part of HOBOware®. The software allows RoboVault to view the data and plot it to analyze trends in interior climate change. Even if no one is watching the computer, RoboVault does not need to worry because the data node system has an alarm feature that will sound any time temperature or humidity fluctuates beyond levels the company prescribes. “The HOBOnode is new but functioning nicely so far in our warehouse. It has been interesting to see the fluctuations from daytime to nighttime – just a couple of degrees. I set the parameters to alarm when a change of one degree happened and was alerted. It has given us another level of comfort that in the event of significant atmospheric change in the warehouse, we will be alert immediately,” said Matt Pici, RoboVault’s Director of Business Development.For security and convenience, the facility keeps human entry to a minimum. The robotic crane and rail system deliver possessions out of the facility. Clients activate the process by first entering a personal PIN into a kiosk built into the advanced security system, which uses biometrics, motion sensors, photoelectric beams, door contacts, networked closed circuit televisions and card access. The facility was built to protect its contents not only from wily thieves, but also Category 5 hurricanes with 200 mph winds.“When there is a hurricane in Florida, this is the safest place for us and our families to be. We do not vacate, but stay here and ensure the security of the stored items,” Chaney said.Chaney conceived RoboVault after two decades in the storage business and study of robotic parking in Europe. The Hobo data nodes are his latest high tech addition to make the facility a one-of-a-kind structure that engenders worry-free storage of valuable possessions.ABOUT ONSET Onset is the world’s leading supplier of data loggers. Based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Onset has sold more than one million data loggers since the company’s founding in 1981. Visit Onset on the web at http://www.onsetcomp.com. |
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