Remote monitoring system



The Remote Monitoring Unit
Remote Monitoring System


Kiosks are an easy to access medium for computer related services such as an ATM or the Internet. Of late Internet kiosks are becoming popular. But their maintenance is a big problem. As the maintenance person is not present physically at the kiosks, the breakdown take a long time to get reported and fixed. This delay not only renders the unattended computer kiosk unusable for days together but is also quite frustrating for the kiosk user who stops using the computer even when it is functioning properly. To overcome such problems CRCS has developed the Remote Monitoring System to continuously monitor the functioning of the kiosks and immediately report the breakdowns to the Central Monitoring Station. This will help in solving the problem with minimum delay. The system also monitors the kiosk’s environmental conditions and takes necessary action. For example it can switch on a fan if the temperature is above a preset value.

The Remote Monitoring System monitors and controls an unattended computer kiosk from a remote location. The kiosk may or may not be connected to the Internet. The system continuously monitors the following:
  • CPU - ON/OFF
  • Monitor - ON/OFF
  • How long ago was the keyboard used?
  • How long ago was the mouse used?
  • Is the monitor light intensity ok?
  • Temperatures at various points in and around the kiosk (currently measured using 4 channels)
  • Relative humidity
  • Presence of water
Besides having monitoring capabilities, the system also allows the Central Monitoring Station to switch off or switch on the kiosk computer and the fan at a preset time or at once.

The Central Monitoring Station can monitor several kiosks at the same time. The monitoring system is entirely independent of kiosk computer and can therefore send reports even if the kiosk computer is not working and any of the above-mentioned monitored situations is unfavourable.

The Remote Monitoring System is based on the PIC16F877 microcontroller. Seven analog-to-digital channels are used to sense analog parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc. after amplification. One I/O port is used to sense the six digital channels. A couple of pins on another I/O port are used to send control signals to control, say, a fan. A portion of the PIC16F877 memory (2K) is used to maintain a logbook. The system continuously monitors the various parameters and records them in logbook. The logbook is implemented as a circular buffer. If required, before overwriting the logbook on PIC16F877, it will be written to the memory of the PC being monitored. The first version of the Remote Monitoring System is being used to monitor the MIE kiosk at Kalkaji, New Delhi.

We have applied for a patent for this product vide application no. 990/DEL/2000.

This project reflects the efforts of CRCS in the area of Remote monitoring.


For more details contact: Meera S. Datta