Getting Started

This guide was designed to briefly outline the capabilities of the rapidM2M ecosystem using the "Base Starter Demo" example, which is already installed when the rapidM2M Base Starter is delivered. No programming skills are required. A tutorial explaining the capabilities of the rapidM2M ecosystem specifically for programmers can be found in "My first IoT project".

Note: Using "Google Chrome" is recommended.
  1. If you do not already have an account on the Partner Portal, you can create a free account via the following link:

    https://partner.microtronics.com

  2. Click the "Register" button to open the registration form.
  3. Enter the required information and click the "Register for free!" button. If all mandatory fields have been filled in correctly, an e-mail including a link for confirming the registration is sent to the e-mail address specified in the registration form.
  4. Click the button in the e-mail to complete the registration. During this process, an account on the rapidM2M Portal, required for managing the devices, visualising the data, topping up credits and more, is created. Credits worth 5,65 Euro are assigned to this account following registration. As all of our devices have been optimised to reduce the data volume, the amount of credits provided should be enough for approx. one month of average usage.
  5. Click "Go to login" and use the user name specified during registration to access the Partner Portal.
  6. Open the rapidM2M Portal by clicking the corresponding button in the Partner Portal.

    1 Button to open the rapidM2M Portal
  7. You are now in the "Site/Applications" area of the rapidM2M Portal. Click the "Add new site" symbol, which subsequently opens the input window for creating a new site.

    1 Button to add a new site
  8. Enter the serial number of your device in the appropriate field and click the "Continue" button. The serial number is located on the type plate of the device.
    Note: The hardware is currently only available for first customers, partners and interested parties. Contact office@microtronics.com and tell us about your application. We will contact you as soon as possible if you are one of the chosen ones.

    1 Field for entering the serial number
    2 "Continue" button

  9. Change the name of the site to avoid any subsequent confusion between the site name and serial number. Select "Base Starter Demo" as the application and click the "Add" button. The input window for configuring the site will then open.

    1 Name of the site (freely selectable)

    Select "Base Starter" here.
    2 Dropdown list of available applications, templates and site types
    3 "Add" button
  10. In the input screen for configuring the site, click "Basic Configuration" to display the input fields for the record interval, transmission interval and transmission mode. Set the parameters as specified below. Next, exit the input screen by clicking the "Save" button.

    1 "Basic Configuration" configuration section
    2 Time between measurement data recordings

    Select "10 sec." here.
    3 Time between transmissions (only applies to the "Interval" and "Wakeup" connection types)

    Select "60 min." here.
    4 Selection of the connection type

    Select "online" here. The device does not disconnect the connection and continuously transmits the measurement data.
    5 "Air Humidity Configuration" configuration section (click to display the corresponding input fields)
    6 "Accelerometer Configuration" configuration section (click to display the corresponding input fields)
  11. The newly added site is now displayed in the list of sites.

    1 Opens the input screen for configuring the site
    2 Deletes the site
    3 Serial number of the device linked to the site. The input screen for configuring the device is opened by clicking on the serial number
    4 Name of the site. The input screen for configuring the site is opened by clicking the name.
    5 List of sites
    6 Status of the measurement instrument. In addition to the status symbol, additional symbols are displayed depending on the current operating state.
    7 Tabs to switch between the display of the connection-specific and application-specific control elements
    8 Connection or application-specific control elements of the site
  12. Connect the antennas to the rapidM2M Base Starter.
    Important: No energy source (USB, rechargeable battery or plug-in power supply) must be connected to the device while connecting or disconnecting the antennas.

    1 2G/3G antenna
    2 SMA antenna connector of the rapidM2M Base Starter Board
    3 WiFi PCB antenna (not required for the "Base Starter Demo" example)
    4 U.FL antenna connector of the rapidM2M module
  13. First, connect the rechargeable battery and afterwards the plug-in power supply to the rapidM2M Base Starter. Subsequently, the "Power Good LED" and the "Charge Status LED" will begin to glow. As the "Base Starter Demo" example is already installed when the rapidM2M Base Starter is delivered, the LED1 will also begin to glow and a connection to the rapidM2M Portal is established. The color of "LED1" depends on the air humidity currently measured.
    Important: Before connecting the power supply, ensure that no objects made of bare metal are in the vicinity of therapidM2M Base Starter as these could cause a short circuit.

    1 Plug-in power supply (included in the scope of delivery)
    2 Rechargeable Li-Ion battery (included in the scope of delivery)
    3 Charge Status LED

    On:Charging in progress
    Off:Charge complete or charger in SLEEP mode
    Blinking:Fault condition occured (e.g. no rechargeable battery connected)
    4 Power Good LED
    5 LED1

    Green:Air humidity below 30%
    Yellow:Air humidity between 30% and 40%
    Red:Air humidity above 40%

    Tip: These thresholds are adjustable via the "Air Humidity Configuration" configuration section. An explanation of this can be found at the end of this tutorial (see Step 17).
  14. Wait until the list of sites indicates that therapidM2M Base Starter is connected to the rapidM2M Portal (rotating arrows). This can take up to two minutes.

    1 Status of the measurement instrument
    The connection to the rapidM2M Portal was successful.
    The rapidM2M Base Starter has still not connected to the rapidM2M Portal.
    2 Indicates that the rapidM2M Base Starter is connected to the rapidM2M Portal and is transferring data. This symbol is hidden again once all of the data has been transferred.
    3 Information regarding the time of the communication between the rapidM2M Base Starter and rapidM2M Portal
    • The rapidM2M Base Starter is connected to therapidM2M Portal and is transferring data: Time the last connection was established
    • The rapidM2M Base Starter is currently not connected to the rapidM2M Portal: Time of the last disconnection
    4 The connection was established via 2G/3G. The symbol indicates the signal strength. A click on the symbol displays information about the radio cell used for the last connection and the radio cells taken into account during the last positioning.
  15. The measurement values are now already recorded and are immediately transmitted to rapidM2M Portal due to the "online" connection type. As soon as the first data record has been received, the time period for which the data is available is indicated in the area for displaying the available data period instead of "NO DATA". For some browsers it is necessary to refresh the web page (press "F5"). To view the received data, click the symbol for opening the report template used to display the measurement data.

    1 Display of the available data period
    2 Opens the report template used to display the measurement data
  16. As already mentioned, the determined measurement values are immediately transmitted to the rapidM2M Portal due to the "online" connection type. The display of the "Latest values" element is automatically updated upon receipt of new data. The measurement value graphic of the "Graphic" element, on the other hand, requires user interaction (e.g. clicking on or moving the measurement value graphic).

    1 Closes the display of the measurement data and returns to the "Sites/applications" area
    2 Name of the site for which the data is being displayed
    3 Latest measurement values determined by the rapidM2M Base Starter
    4 Activates full screen mode
    5 Creates a PDF of the current report and opens it in a new browser tab
    6 Measurement value graphic (displays the measurement values over time) of the "Temperature", "Humidity" and "Counter"
    7 Checkbox to display and hide a measurement channel
    8 Operating elements for selecting the time period for which the data should be displayed
    9 Measurement value graphic (displays the measurement values over time) of the "Battery Voltage" and "Input Voltage"
  17. Play and have fun. Use the report described in the previous step to see the impact of your actions on the data to be recorded. To achieve a faster reaction time, you can set the "Record Interval" to 5 seconds or 1 second (see Step 10).
    Important: Reducing the record interval automatically increases the volume of data to be transmitted. Thus, the demand for credits increases as well and the credits assigned to your account run out faster.

    For example, you can breathe on the sensor to change temperature and humidity. Depending on the currently measured air humidity the colour of "LED1" changes from green to yellow (Warning) and further to red (Alerting). The thresholds can be modified via the "Air Humidity Configuration" configuration section located in the input screen for configuring the site (see Step 10). To open the input screen for configuring the site, click the name of the site located in the list of sites (see Step 11).

    You can press the button briefly to increase the counter. If you selected „interval“ or „wakeup“ as the connection type (see Step 10), a connection to the rapidM2M Portal is triggered by pressing the button for more than 5 seconds.

    The values for „Angle x Axis“, „Angle y Axis“ and „Angle z Axis“ can be changed by rotating the rapidM2M Base Starter. If you rotate the rapidM2M Base Starter around the "x-axis" and the angle between the "y-axis" and the earth’s surface exceeds 45 degrees (default setting), either LED2 or LED3 begins to glow. Which LED begins to glow depends on the direction of the rotation. When rotating therapidM2M Base Starter in such a way that the "rapidM2M" logo points downwards, LED2 lights up after exceeding the threshold (Threshold Down). When rotating therapidM2M Base Starter in the opposite direction LED3 lights up after exceeding the threshold (Threshold Up). The thresholds for both directions can be set independently of each other via the "Accelerometer Configuration" configuration section located in the input screen for configuring the site (see Step 10).To open the input screen for configuring the site, click the name of the site located in the list of sites (see Step 11).

    Note: The source code for this example can be found in Base Starter Demo

    1 LED3 to indicate that the rapidM2M Base Starter has been rotated more than "Threshold Up" degrees in direction "+ y"
    2 LED2 to indicate that the rapidM2M Base Starter has been rotated more than "Threshold Down" degrees in direction "- y"
    3 LED1 to indicate the level of air humidity (green: below 30%, yellow: between 30% and 40%, red: above 40%)
    4 Temperature and humidity sensor
    5 Button for increasing the counter or triggering a connection
    6 "rapidM2M" logo
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