iControl Incorporated FAQ

miKIT and iCHIME Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do you have a power profile for the iCHIME module?

A. iControl has created an Excel worksheet that allows you to estimate power requirements based upon the standard size of your sensor data, number of messages/day, and estimated average percentage of retries due to intermittent comms obstruction. The numbers you can modify are highlighted in yellow. The result is an estimate on the life of a 19AH Tadiran battery both in days and in years.

Three different versions of iCHIMEs (V1.3, V1.4, and V2.0) are listed in the Excel workbook. Two versions (V1.3 and V1.4) have their power budgets included in the User’s Guide. The third version (2.0) will be available in the miKITs in January 2010 at which time the User’s Guide will also be updated to reflect the new information. While operationally (sleep, receive, transmit times) all three versions are equivalent, the current requirements for sleep and transmit are substantially different. Since the timing is such that the V2.0 iCHIMEs will be available with the TRUST Phase I awards, we recommend you use this version in your calculations.

Note that three underlying assumptions are included in the calculations.

# records required for one Sensor Data packet

If > 80 bytes, the ceiling of the sensor data length/80 is calculated
If < 80 bytes, the ceiling of 80/sensor data is calculated
Note if <80

Enter ‘80’ if not combining multiple packets before transmit
Enter actual sensor data size if combining multiple packets before transmit

# records transmitted will be 2x the number of data records calculated in #1 above to account for acknowledgement
Tadiran battery is dedicated to comms. If you are sharing a battery and wish to include the iCHIME power budget equations in your overall budget calculator, you can copy and paste equations from the non-yellow cells (they are protected against edits).

Q. What is the expected throughput of the iCHIME and MATTS system?

A. A good rule of thumb based upon 3 years of MATTS field operations is 5 to 7 records per second, where a record can contain up to 80 bytes of sensor data. While the radios are rated to 250kbps, other factors are considered in calculating throughput. To guarantee delivery, each record must receive an acknowledgement from the server before the next record can be sent. These roundtrip steps include:

Serial rate between sensor and iCHIME module
Transmission time between iCHIME and MATTS iTAG
Transmission time between MATTS iTAG to MATTS iVIEW server (either through iGATE or embedded WAN))
Transmission time of acknowledgement from iVIEW back to iTAG (either through iGATE or embedded WAN)
Transmission time of acknowledgement from iTAG to iCHIME
Serial transmission of acknowledgement from iCHIME to sensorrelay speeds throughout the network have to be taken into account

In other scenarios, such as the use of an iGATE containing a satellite modem, a store-and-forward option is available, so that the sensor can “offload” information to the iGATE for upload after a larger packet size is reached (minimizes satellite fees).

Q. Can an iCHIME communicate through a steel container to other devices? If so, what are typical ranges?

A. Sandia National Labs, at the request of DHS S&T, has conducted a number of tests where ACSD/CSD’s using iCHIMEs for their local and remote communication links were installed in steel containers. The following table provides a range estimate for Versions 1.3 and 1.4/2.0 (same due to same tx/rx power) to various devices (MATTS iTAG on outside of container, direct to miGATE handheld reader, and direct to iGATE).

While these results are not official, these were the ranges demonstrated at DHS/Sandia demos in August to industry, government officials, and foreign nationals over a 10-day period. iControl has also worked with several sensor manufacturers commercially who have observed similar results.

Note the first number is the average and the second number is max observed. All ranges used brand new (no dings or warping) ISO steel container. The max range was observed when iCHIME was packaged inside a hardened sensor enclosure. Metallic sensor enclosures will degrade the range.

iCHIME to:	Version 1.3 (40mA transmit)	Version 1.4/2.0 (100mA transmit)
MATTS iTAG	Length of Container	Length of Container
miGATE	5 to 10' beyond container	30 to 60' beyond container
iGATE	10 to 30' beyond container	100 to 200' beyond container

The iGATE used in the demos was not a full-power version. A normal MATTS iGATE (14dB antenna array and amplifier) can hear amplified iCHIME mounted inside a steel container up to 1km away. Due to the asymmetry of tx/rx on the iCHIME, for the iCHIME to receive an ACK, the 200’ range is a closer estimate.

Q. How much does a miKIT cost and what is the lead time?

A. The miKIT list price is $10,000. A 20% discount is available for small businesses and research institutions.

Lead Time: iControl does not accept miKIT orders until a sensor contract award has been announced. In anticipation of the TRUST Phase I awards, iControl will set aside 10 miKITs with V2.0 iCHIMEs for delivery to awardees in January 2010. Normal lead time after receipt of order is 10 business days, which allows iControl to perform pre-delivery system checkout with the customer, including pre-configuring the iGATE for the customer’s network and having the customer access the iVIEW web page. Shipping and handling fees are not included in the miKIT quote, so the customer may designate their own form of shipping and timeframe.