SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Our vision of a complete monitoring system is one of versatility - a system that is adaptable to the diverse requirements of each individual tunnel.

All our sensors and interfaces (VCOM, NOVA, VIPA, AIRFLOW and OI) can operate using a common power supply and a common communications protocol (over RS485), so they are 100% compatible and interchangeable, and can be used as stand-alone monitors, or as part of an integrated monitoring system. In addition to the common RS485 bus, they all have separate RS232 ports which allow for “walk-up” comms on a one-to-one basis.

The common RS485 bus means that multiple sensors and interfaces can be connected together via a single “daisy chained” cable, over vast distances, to form a completely integrated monitoring system which can either be grouped, or connected back to a central control room. Each sensor in the system is allocated an ID so that any interface can interrogate and command any individual sensor by addressing the correct ID.

This capability means that the entire monitoring system could, if required, be connected back to a single PC or PLC which would act as the single interface point to the wider tunnel management system.

Alternatively, the VCOM, NOVA and OI are all interfaces in their own right, in that they all have on-board output options, such as scalable isolated analogue outputs (0-10V or 4-20mA), programmable level alarm and service/fault contacts, and optional interface cards for common bus protocols such as ModBus, Profibus, DeviceNet, Ethernet etc. The VIPA and AIRFLOW sensors can be connected directly into any VCOM, NOVA, or OI to get access to the same range of outputs.

This provision of outputs in sensors commonly found on the tunnel wall, as well as in OI (commonly mounted in local panels or remote control rooms) allows tunnel operators to choose not only how, but also where the hardware interface between our monitoring system and the wider tunnel management system occurs.

We believe our modular approach to the complete monitoring system offers ultimate flexibility and enables us to meet the requirements of any tunnel operator.