The truly all-encompassing nature of telemetry

Telemetry, which can be defined as a highly automated communications process by which measurements are made and other data collected at points either remote or inaccessible, before being transmitted to receiving equipment so that it can be monitored, is not a process with which many people have an everyday familiarity. Nonetheless, it is a vital process in many industries, including many beyond the obvious bounds of Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com).

An appreciation of the wider context of telemetry software and hardware and the situations and industries in which it is used helps individuals and organisations to grasp just how versatile the process can be – as well as just how much work goes into the development and refinement of a solution that is reliable, flexible, high-performing and cost-effective. Although Oriel Systems is a high technology industrial services provider with a strong track record in the water, chemical, oil and gas and printing industries, there are many more sectors in which telemetry has an instrumental role.

These include meteorology, with telemetry having been used for the transmission of meteorological data by weather balloons since 1920. It also has a role in space science, as manned or unmanned spacecraft use it to transmit their own data, over distances of more than 10 billion kilometres. Telemetry systems have also long been appreciated in agriculture, given the need for weather and soil data to be delivered in a timely fashion for most activities relating to healthy crops and good yields. This gives wireless weather stations a vital part to play in precision irrigation and the prevention of disease.

There is also a strong association between remote monitoring systems and the sporting world, and indeed, many people may be predominantly aware of it on account of its link with motor racing. In modern motor racing, telemetry is a fact of life, with race engineers using data that has been collected during a test or race to properly tune the car so that it delivers the best possible performance. So advanced have telemetry systems come in series like Formula One, that it is possible to calculate the potential lap time of the car and use it as a benchmark for the driver. During a race, such measurements as accelerations (G forces) in three axes, wheel speed, temperature readings and suspension displacement can all be made.

From defence, space and resource exploration, energy monitoring and military intelligence to resource distribution, medicine and even retail, there are so many fields in which a telemetry installation can have a major influence. Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) takes pride in its own laser-like focus on its specialist areas of expertise, and its technical team welcomes contact for those with small or large telemetry systems and complicated or relatively simple requirements. It will ensure that all elements are incorporated into a system that delivers the best results in the context of the client firm’s resourcing and/or staffing needs and wider objectives.