Feature

Itron UK’s electronic display innovation used for COVID applications

Itron (UK) Ltd is successfully able to design-in bespoke display solutions to OEMs.

31/01/2022 14:30:39

One such customer, KBiosystems, manufactures equipment used in detecting COVID variants with its wide range of sample sealers employing 4.3inch and 7-inch display modules. A typical sample tray consists of 225 compartments, which once loaded, requires a foil heat seal to be applied to prevent contamination. The latest designs use Itron (UK) Ltd’s modular system solution with stepper motor drive, temperature measurement and heating sub-modules controlled by the display module operating iDevOS via internal serial CAN and I2C interfaces.

The stepper motor module uses a local AVR CPU and watchdog to, firstly, monitor safety interlocks, to control the motor and to enable heating to provide a fail-safe solution.

Another customer, Monmouth Scientific, manufactures Clean Air Cabinets which guarantee a highly clean environment in which to analyse thousands of swabs from COVID test centres. Both 4.3 inch and 7-inch display modules are used across a range of products to set flow rate, filter change and other parameter settings.

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.