Whilst attending The European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2014 Delta-T Devices Ltd and German partner Umweltanalaytische Produkte GmbH combined their expertise to run a practical workshop at Vienna University.
The workshop focused on offering attendees a hands-on introduction to the recently introduced GP2 Data Logger and Controller.
The workshop was hosted by Dr Gert Bachmann, an Assistant Professor at Vienna University’s Molecular Systems Biology Department. He started proceedings by showing attendees a Delta-T Devices DL2 Logger that was installed in the early 1990’s, had been logging continuously since then, and was still working perfectly. It was explained that the logger had experienced a variety of experimental conditions, ranging from -40 degrees through to subtropical conditions.
Moving on to the recently introduced GP2 Data Logger and controller, Tony Peloe of Delta-T Devices gave an overview of the advanced features which distinguishes it from its predecessors. These include statistics (get average, min, max, standard deviation, etc) mathematical functions (trigonometric, boolean, etc.) and advanced control features (if, then, else, up to 6 relay outputs, time of day, etc.)
Tony then guided attendees through a simple practical tutorial, allowing them to work hands-on with the GP2 Logger and accompanying sensors – in the construction of a control system designed to log ambient temperature, the temperature of a heating plate, and the speed of a desk fan. The tutorial then moved on to the creation of a logger program that activated the heating plate to 5 degrees above the ambient temperature – then automatically activated a cooling fan – to maintain temperature within set parameters. The attendees enjoyed this project and were soon discussing their own ideas about potential uses for the GP2 across multiple application areas.
Delta-T Devices Dick Jenkins concluded the workshop by detailing a variety of projects that have made good use of the GP2’s logging and controlling capabilities. These included soil bank stability monitoring – using a model developed at Cambridge University. This model, based on measurements of soil moisture, water level and matrix potential measurements, results in realtime risk calculation and warning systems.
The response to the workshop from attendees was very positive, and Delta-T Devices, Umweltanalaytische Produkte GMBH and Assistant Professor Bachmann enjoyed collaborating to run the event – learning much from the attendees’ responses and creative thinking.