[Developer Column] A Sensor Only Field Experts Could Build

'Why did we build our own vibration sensor?'

This is a question we are often asked. There are already many sensors in the world. However, as we performed maintenance in the field, there were points about existing products that we simply could not accept.

1. Discomfort with the "Black Box" Approach

Most wireless sensors send data to the manufacturer's proprietary cloud and only return a "Normal/Abnormal" judgment result to the field. Even if you wanted to know "Why is it abnormal?" or "What is the waveform shape?", the raw data (source data) was often inaccessible or required additional expensive fees.
"Data indicating the health of the machine should rightfully belong to the customer (the field)."
This is the biggest reason why conanair insists on raw data output in CSV format.

2. The "Too High" Hurdle for Introduction

We, NSXe (Nakayama Hydrothermal Industry), handle maintenance for many small to medium-sized plants and factories. At such sites, budgets of thousands of dollars for a single sensor or tens of thousands for initial system introduction are not easily approved.
"If there is nothing that allows for a small start yet offers professional-grade performance, we have no choice but to build it ourselves."
The simplicity and pricing of conanair are calculated back from the reality of the field.

3. The Limits of "Generic" and Technical Barriers

At the start of development, the biggest challenge was selecting the communication chip.
To send high-precision vibration data, high-capacity communication is needed, but dedicated industrial wireless chips are expensive and consume a lot of power. This would destroy the concept of "low-cost and battery-powered."
We focused on utilizing the versatile "ESP32 (Wi-Fi microcontroller)."
However, because it is a general-purpose product, there were issues with sampling rate and stability when used for precision vibration measurement.
"Is it impossible to achieve professional-grade anomaly detection with a cheap chip?"
In the face of this technical wall, development almost hit a dead end.

4. Technical Exchange with Nagoya Institute of Technology

conanair was born with the cooperation of Professor Ichiro Koshijima of the Nagoya Institute of Technology Graduate School and Professor Emeritus Yoshihiro Hashimoto of the Nagoya Institute of Technology Manufacturing DX Research Institute, incorporating voices from the field of equipment maintenance. Using smartphones or PCs that anyone can use and commercially available batteries, we developed a product with performance necessary and sufficient for preventive maintenance at a low price.

5. Academic Verification and Professional Responsibility

This technical achievement is verified not only in product development but also in academic settings.
Through presentations at symposiums hosted by The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) and activities in the Japan Society of Plant Maintenance (JSPM), where I serve as a research committee chair, we continue to reflect expert feedback into the product.
conanair is not "finished upon completion." We analyze raw data (CSV) from the field and create "smarter maintenance" together with our users. I believe this is my mission as an engineer.

Listening to the "Sound" of the Field

The name "conanair" comes from the Kansai dialect phrase "Konan eeyan" (meaning "This is just right" or "This looks good"), born from the thought "I wish something like this existed" during our experience in vibration measurement. It is not related to the anime "Detective Conan".
Before being a sensor manufacturer, we are equipment maintenance professionals. That is why we packed only the "functions that field engineers really wanted".
Please try listening to the "voice" of your equipment using this sensor.

30-Day Free Trial & Inquiry

Try Conan Air for free for 30 days. Here is what our users are saying:

• Easy installation for immediate use
• No app required; operate via web browser
• No cloud required for fully automatic measurement
• Affordable, including dedicated software

Try equipment anomaly detection and predictive maintenance for free. Please feel free to contact us.

30-Day Free Trial & Inquiry

Try Conan Air for free for 30 days. Here is what our users are saying:

• Easy installation for immediate use
• No app required; operate via web browser
• No cloud required for fully automatic measurement
• Affordable, including dedicated software

Try equipment anomaly detection and predictive maintenance for free. Please feel free to contact us.

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[Developer Column] Why "Raw Data"? conanair's Technical Choices