RuuviTag for business – Logger, repeater, scanner, and gateway

What is a RuuviTag?

RuuviTag is a multi-sensor device developed in Finland by Ruuvi Innovations Ltd. RuuviTag can track air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and acceleration. It uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), which is a special type of Bluetooth designed for IOT devices. BLE uses significantly less battery power than the Bluetooth used for connecting your headphones to your smartphone. It’s widely used in IoT sensors for environmental monitoring and in DIY smart home solutions.

RuuviTag modes

Kaltiot has developed alternative firmware for RuuviTag that enables RuuviTags to be set in three different modes: logger, repeater, and scanner. These modes are designed for organizational use cases where multiple RuuviTags are used to form a sensor network. Data from the beacons is uploaded to the Kaltiot IoT Platform via the LTE-enabled Wireless IOT Gateway or the Kaltiot mobile app gateway.

RuuviTag logger mode

The logger mode which Kaltiot has developed enables a RuuviTag beacon to store all sensor information in internal flash memory. The logger beacon can typically store several weeks’ worth of data. This depends on how much data is being collected, and how frequently samples are collected. For example, if the logger is storing only relative humidity, it can store data from a longer time period than a logger that also stores data on temperature and air pressure. If the memory becomes full, new data will start overwriting the oldest stored data.

When a gateway is brought within range of a RuuviTag logger, all stored information is transferred via wireless connection through the gateway to the Kaltiot backend. After a successful data transfer, the logger’s internal memory is cleared and it begins collecting new data.

If there is constantly a gateway within the range, the logger will broadcast the data without storing it.

For example, if a RuuviTag logger is attached to a shipment, it will store temperature and humidity data from the entire shipping chain and then transfer the data when the shipment passes a gateway in the destination terminal. Another example is monitoring ambient conditions in construction site. Read more about how logger beacons are used on Fira’s construction sites.

The battery life of a beacon in logger mode is 2 to 5 years.

RuuviTag Repeater

The repeater mode which Kaltiot has developed enables a “repeater” RuuviTag to work as a data forwarder. The repeater sends data that it has received over BLE from RuuviTag loggers onward to the gateway. It is also possible to chain repeater beacons together. With repeater beacons, you can extend the range of gateways to cover a larger area so that you need fewer gateways.

For example, at a construction site, where indoor signal range is often a challenge, sensor data can be relayed down a hallway or to another floor to the nearest gateway.

The battery life of a beacon in repeater mode is up to 2 years.

RuuviTag Scanner

A RuuviTag beacon in the scanner mode which Kaltiot has developed listens to signals from other BLE devices and saves the data in its internal memory. When a scanner beacon is within range of a gateway, it transfers the scanned information to the Kaltiot IOT platform.

RuuviTag scanners can be used, among other things, for worker tracking when workers carry a RuuviTag beacon around with them. This setup is suitable for determining which workers have been at what work station for how long. For example, a hospital could track the amount of time various staff members have spent with each patient. RuuviTag scanners can also be used in high-rise construction safety monitoring.

Scanners are not suitable for real-time GPS-style locating.

Currently, RuuviTag scanner beacons using Kaltiot firmware are supported only by the Kaltiot mobile gateway. Support for the 4G IoT Gateway is coming.

The battery life of a beacon in scanner mode is 2 to 6 months.

RuuviTag Gateway from Kaltiot

A gateway is an IoT device that communicates with nearby IoT sensors using a wireless connection, and uploads that data to the cloud. RuuviTags don’t have an internal internet connection, so gateways are required to transfer data to cloud.

Two gateways for RuuviTag are available from Kaltiot: a mobile app gateway and the LTE-enabled, battery-powered wireless IoT Gateway. The mobile app gateway supports only RuuviTags with Kaltiot firmware. The wireless IOT Gateway also supports RuuviTag and RuuviTag Pro with default firmware.

Ruuvi Innovations Ltd also provides their own gateway, but it only supports standard RuuviTags and real-time data from logger beacons. It does not support the scanner or repeater modes, or historical data from the logger beacons.

RuuviTags as part of an IoT solution

RuuviTags with logger, scanner and repeater modes make a great tool for many IoT solutions. In addition to the environmental monitoring data, we can also configure RuuviTags that use Kaltiot firmware to get data on battery level. This means your reports can show the estimated remaining battery life.

We can also configure the interval at which messages are sent, which can be used to extend the battery life or get data updates more frequently.

History data is available in the Kaltiot IOT platform for as long as you need. The cost is included in our service fee.

Using Kaltiot’s IOT platform, you can use RuuviTags side by side with devices from other manufacturers, including beacons, LoRa devices, and LTE-connected sensors. Although these devices use different communication technologies, all data can be sent to the same place and used in the same reporting.

Questions?

Reach out to our Sales team for more information on pricing, ordering, and whether RuuviTags or another device we offer can meet your needs.