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A practical design approach for

a Hybrid AMR application in India

Indranil Majumdar
HBL Power Systems Ltd.,
Calcutta

An Overview :

Automatic meter reading, or AMR, is the technology of

automatically collecting consumption, diagnostic, and status data from water meter or energy
metering devices (water, gas, electric) and transferring that data to a central database for billing,
troubleshooting, and analyzing. This advance mainly saves utility providers the expense of
periodic trips to each physical location to read a meter. Another advantage is billing can be based
on near real time consumption rather than on estimates based on previous or predicted
consumption. This timely information coupled with analysis, can help both utility providers and
customers better control the use and production of electric energy, gas usage, or water
consumption. AMR technologies include handheld, mobile and network technologies based on
telephony platforms (wired and wireless), radio frequency (RF), or powerline transmission.

Radio frequency based AMR

Radio frequency based AMR can take many forms. The more common ones are handheld,
mobile, and fixed network. There are both two-way RF systems and one-way RF systems in use
that use both licensed and unlicensed RF bands. In a two-way or "wake up" system, a radio
transceiver normally sends a signal to a particular transmitter serial number, telling it to wake up
from a resting state and transmit its data. The meter attached transceiver and the reading
transceiver both send and receive radio signals and data. In a one-way “bubble-up” or continuous
broadcast type system, the transmitter broadcasts readings continuously every few seconds. This
means the reading device can be a receiver only, and the meter AMR device a transmitter only.
Data goes one way, from the meter AMR transmitter to the meter reading receiver. There are also
hybrid systems that combine one-way and two-way technologies, using one-way communication
for reading and two way communication for programming functions.The technology based on RF
is not readily accepted everywhere. In several Asian countries the technology faces a barrier of
regulations in place pertaining to use of the radio frequency of any radiated power. For example
in India the radio frequency which is generally in ISM band is not free to use even for low power
radio of 10 mW. The majority of manufacturers of electricity meters have radio frequency devices
in the frequency band of 433/868 MHz for large scale deployment in European countries.The
frequency band of 2.4 GHz can be now used in India for outdoor as well as indoor applications
and is now being widely used for AMR.

Fixed network

Fixed Network AMR is a method where a network is permanently installed to capture meter
readings. This method can consist of a series of antennas, towers, collectors, repeaters, or other
permanently installed infrastructure to collect transmissions of meter readings from AMR capable
meters and get the data to a central computer without a person in the field to collect it. There are
several types of network topologies in use to get the meter data back to a central computer. A
star network is the most common, where a meter transmits its data to a central collector or
repeater. Some systems use only collectors which receive and store data for processing. Others
also use a repeater which forwards a reading from a more remote area back to a main collector
without actually storing it. A repeater may be forwarded by RF signal or sometimes is converted
to a wired network such as telephone or IP network to get the data back to a collector.
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Some fixed network systems are also capable of being installed as a hybrid AMR system
where mobile and fixed network are intermixed by design. In a hybrid system, part of the system
is read by fixed network, and parts may read by mobile or other technology, or both. Utilities with
low density rural areas may not cost justify the fixed network infrastructure for parts of their
service area, using it only for higher density zones or commercial accounts. Some hybrid
networks allow reading of a meter by both methods concurrently as a source of redundancy. In
the event of a failure of the network due a natural disaster, sabotage, power failure, or other
network interruption, the mobile reading system is available in their disaster recovery plan as an
alternative means of data collection to the fixed network.

RF technologies commonly used for AMR

• Narrow Band (single fixed radio frequency)

• Spread Spectrum - Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)
• Spread spectrum - Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)

There are also meters using AMR with RF technologies such as cellular phone data systems,
Zigbee, Bluetooth, Wavenis and others. Some systems operate with FCC licensed frequencies
and others under FCC Part 15 which allows use of unlicensed radio frequencies.

Getting started with a Hybrid AMR Design :

Its important to identify the network topology and the technology platform of hybrid AMR
application that we intend to build and install as a test project. The following modules would be
required to build the network.

RESIDENCE – METER SIDE

(a) MeterSide RF Device (MSD) : 802.15.4 Low Power Radio, 2.4 GHz using a ZigBee MAC
(b) Meter Side Controller (MSC) : 16 bit Meter Interrogation Controller(optional)

AMR DATA COLLECTOR

(c) Pole Data Collector (PDC) : Same as above to be configured as a PAN Co-ordinator
(d) Pole Side Controller(PSC) : 16 bit Pole PAN Data Controller
(e) Pole Mobile Communicator(PMC) : GSM/CDMA modem with RS232

AMR CENTER

(f) ADSL Modem with Static IP address

(g) AMR Server

Figure 1 : The AMR Network

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RF Network Topology :

METER SIDE DEVICE (REDUCED

FUNCTIONAL DEVICE )

POLE DATA COLLECTOR (FULL

FUNCTIONAL DEVICE )

Figure 2 : The STAR Network topology

System Block Diagram :

RESIDENCE - Meter Side

+14dBm

MSC MSD

802.15.4
RS232 TTL UART 2.4 GHz,
16 bit
Controller Radio Metering data
(RFD) to PDC
(optional)

+VDC +VDC

Single Phase Energy Meter

With RS232 interface

Figure 3 : The Meter Side configuration

The above diagram as shown has to be built into the meter or interfaced as an external cartridge

AMR DATA COLLECTOR

PMC
PDC PSC

802.15.4 RS232
TTL UART 16 bit
Metering data 2.4 GHz, DATA to
from MSD Radio Controller AMR Center
(FFD)

+VDC +VDC

+VDC

Figure 4 : The Pole Side configuration

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AMR CENTER

NETWORK

AMR SERVER
LAN
STATIC IP
INTERNET CONNECTIVITY SQL Server/Oracle
( ADSL Connection ) With GUI

Figure 5 : The Billing Office configuration

Hardware Requirements :

(a) IEEE 802.15.4 Radio, 2.4 GHz

Figure 6 : Radio Pulse, LM2455 – IEEE 802.15.4 Module

MG2455-F48: 2.4GHz RF transceiver, base-band modem, a hardwired MAC and an

embedded 8051 microcontroller.

RF Transceiver

• Single-chip 2.4GHz RF Transceiver

• Low Power Consumption
• Low Operating Voltage of 1.5V
• High Sensitivity of –98dBm@1.5V
• No External T/R Switch and Filter needed
• On-chip VCO, LNA, and PA
• Programmable Output Power up to +8dBm@1.5V and with PA upto +14dBm
• Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
• O-QPSK Modulation
• Scalable Data Rate: 250Kbps for ZigBee, 500Kbps and 1Mbps for private application
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(b) GSM Module ( 2 different choice of modules )

ZTE ( Cost Effective but with limited features )

Figure 7 : ZTE, GSM Module (ME3006)

• Support Quad Band (GSM 850/EGSM 900/DCS 1800/PCS 1900 MHZ)

• Auto switch between EGSM 900 and DCS 1800
• Support packet data services;
• Support SMS
• Support standard AT command set and expanded AT command set
• Provide standard UART interface
• TCP/IP Stack

Wavecom (Expensive but with a host of features)

Figure 8 : Wavecom, GSM Module (New Q24 Series))

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(c) 16 bit Controller

Figure 9 : Microchip, 16 bit Microcontroller

• Modified Harvard Architecture • Up to 16 MIPS Operation @ 32 MHz

• 8 MHz Internal Oscillator with 4x PLL Option and Multiple Divide Options
• 17-Bit by 17-Bit Single-Cycle Hardware Multiplier • 32-Bit by 16-Bit Hardware Divider
• 16-Bit x 16-Bit Working Register Array • C Compiler Optimized Instruction Set Architecture:
• Two Address Generation Units for Separate Read and Write Addressing of Data Memory

Software Requirements :
The system software is divided into three blocks with functions as follows :

(a) Meter Side Software

• To reside in the LM2455 cpu or in the optional controller

• 8051 or PIC24FJ core
• Assembly/ANSI C language mixed based firmware
• Firmware to initialize the module as per hardware MAC/Device ID
• Poll for interrogation from PAN Co-ordinator at a specific PAN ID
• On interrogation from PAN Co-ordinator, the MSD to interrogate the energy meter over
RS232 to collect meter data and send the same to the PAN Co-ordinator .
• Meter data collected on demand from the specific meters to be sent to the PAN Control
• MSD is a slave device (Reduced Functional Device) that acts as a leaf node and only
caters to commands from the PAN Co-ordinator

(b) Pole Side Software

• The Pole Data Collector (PAN Co-ordinator) RF Device polls the MSD’s and collects
meter data
• The Pole side Controller (PSC) acts as a bridge between the RF and the GSM
• PSC also intializes the GSM module, opens a TCP socket and configures the GSM as a
client to send data to the AMR Center, Static IP address
• If ZTE GSM module is used the controller is required else with Wavecom module that
offers a controller with Open AT features an additional controller is not required

(c) AMR Center Software

• The AMR Center has a static IP address with a Server where multiple clients (Pole Data
Collector) are connected on mutiple sockets.
• It listens to each socket, receives the meter data and pushes the same to a database
working on SQL Server or Oracle
• A front end ( designed with VB or VC+) maybe used to design a GUI to interrogate the
clients and view and print meter data recorded in the database
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A Quick Start and a Fast Recipe for a Hybrid AMR Design :

Figure 10 : Embedded Hardware Construction blocks

The project work to be split into

three teams as follows :

RF Team :
(i) Does the meter interface to RF Meter Side-Node 1
module and builds the PAN network (RFD)Configuration as defined
to receive metering data at PAN Co- in Figure 3
ordinator RS232 port

(ii) Tests the network to get

metering data at the port against
commands and the same simulated
on a PC terminal before final run

GSM Team :
Writes the GSM software using
Open AT Commands to fetch data
from the PAN and send data over a
Pole Side – PAN Co-ordinator(FFD)
TCP Client connection to a Server
Configuration as defined in Figure 4
Server Team : PAN
Develop the back end DB server
software with GUI

Meter Side- Node 3 RS232 Meter Side-Node 2

(RFD)Configuration as (RFD)Configuration as
defined in Figure 3 defined in Figure 3

WAVECOM
(Q24 Series)
GSM

Figure 11 : Server Side Hardware Construction Blocks

ADSL connection with Server with front end

Static IP Address Graphical User Interface
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Bill of Materials – Major components (Approx.) :
Table : 1 (RF Team)
S.no. Item and Description Qty Remarks
01 LM2455 Module 06 RadioPulse, Korea
02 2.4 GHz, 3 dBi antenna with SMA connector 06 Any suitable make
03 MAX232 Integrated Circuit (PDIP) 06 Maxim, TI etc
04 Voltage Regulator IC 06 TI, LT, ST, etc.
05 PIC24FJ64GA002 controller (PDIP) 06 Microchip
06 LM2455 connectors 10 sets RadioPulse,Korea
07 PCB/Prototype board 06 Any suitable make
08 Single Phase Energy Meter (with RS232 port) 04 Any suitable make
09 Misc. (Connecting wire, jacks, cables, etc.) 04 sets Any suitable make
10 Enclosure/Cabinet 04 Any suitable make

Table : 2 (GSM Team)

S.no. Item and Description Qty Remarks
01 GSM Module (Q24 series with SIM slot) 02 Wavecom
02 SIM Card (GPRS activated) – BSNL / Airtel 02 Integrated in module
03 High Gain (Mag. Mount) GSM antenna with cable 02 Any suitable make
04 PCB with onboard mounting connectors 02 Any suitable make
05 Misc components 02 sets Any suitable make

Table : 3 (Server Team)

S.no. Item and Description Qty Remarks
01 ADSL connection (with Static IP ) 01 Any suitable make
02 ADSL modem 01 Any suitable make
03 Desktop PC ( Server ) with O/S 01 Any suitable make
04 SQL 2000 or Oracle DB software 01 As described
05 Wireshark (TCP/IP) Analysis software 01 As described

Appendix A : Glossary ( uncommon Terms)

Term/Abbreviation Defintion
802.15,4 IEEE Standard for Personal Area Network
PAN Personal Area Network
MAC Media Access Control
ZigBee PAN networking protocol deveoped by the ZigBee forum
FCC Federal Communications Commission
TTL Transistor to transistor logic
UART Universal asynchronous receiver transmitter
PDIP Plastic dual inline package
ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line
SMA Sub Miniature Axial ( Microwave low loss connector )
FFD Full Functional Device ( RF device that can act as router/co-ordinator)
RFD Reduced Functional Device that can act only as an end device
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator
LNA Low Noise Amplifier ( RF)
PA Power Amplifier (RF)
dBi Antenna Gain, Isotropic
dBm Power output in dBm, 0dBm=1mw across 600 ohm
O-QPSK Offset quadrature phase-shift keying
AT Commands Attention Commands
DB Database
T/R Transmit/Receive
MW Milli Watt