Industrial Controls and Drives (P) Ltd,

Chennai

Automatic Meter Reading using GPRS

Modem

Industrial Controls and Drives India Pvt Ltd

10,Mettukuppam Road,
Maduravoyal,
Chennai - 95

ISSUE

DATE

05-Oct-2009

AUTHOR

ICD

Copyright Notice
This document contains proprietary information of ICD India Pvt Ltd. No part of this document
may be reproduced, stored, copied, or transmitted in any form or by means of electronic,
mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the express consent of ICD India. This document
is intended for internal circulation only and not meant for external distribution.

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Industrial Controls and Drives (P) Ltd,

Chennai

1 Purpose
The purpose of the document is to provide the overall System overview of GPRS
based Automatic / Remote Meter Reading.

GPRS Based Remote Meter Reading

2.1

Introduction

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a packet oriented Mobile Data Service
available to users of the 2G cellular communication systems Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), as well as in the 3G systems. In the 2G systems, GPRS
provides data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps. GPRS is an IP centric. So, dedicated
connection cannot be established between Terminal Equipment and the Network. If the
communication is through TCP then its a connection oriented model and if the
communication is through UDP then its a connection less model

How GPRS Works?

GPRS is packet based, wherein GPRS data is handled as a series of "packets"
that can be routed over several paths through the network, rather than as a continuous
bit-stream over a dedicated dial-up connection. With GPRS, the information is split into
separate but related "packets" before being transmitted and reassembled at the
receiving end. The Internet itself is an example of a packet data network, the most
famous of many such network types.
In second-generation mobile networks, calls are handled using traditional circuitswitching technology. A dedicated "circuit", or "timeslot", is allocated between two points
for the duration of a call. No other phone can use this circuit during the call, regardless of
whether any data is being transmitted or not.
GPRS standard is delivered in a very elegant manner- with network operators needing
only to add a couple of new infrastructure nodes and making a software upgrade to
some existing GSM network elements.

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Industrial Controls and Drives (P) Ltd,

Chennai

2.2

System Architecture

Following figure shows the complete system architecture for GPRS based Remote
Meter.
a) With Universal Data Concentrators

Web

Wavecom Modem with Wireless CPU

(Wavecom Supreme 10)

Universal Data
Concentrator

Web Server & EMS Server

Meter
1

Meter
2

Meter
3

Meter
32

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Industrial Controls and Drives (P) Ltd,

Chennai

b) With Individual Meters

Web

Wavecom Modem with

Wireless CPU

RS485 to
RS232
Converter

Web Server & EMS Server

Meter

The Complete Data collection through GPRS is based on two applications

2.2.1 Server Application

This application will be running on a dedicated server/ PC with dedicated IP address
(static IP Address obtained from ISP). This application shall create a server socket and
listen to connections. Also, the server shall support multiple connections. Once, the
connection is established, the server shall be able receive data as and when the data is
sent by the terminal equipment. The application shall be able to parse the received data
and store it in a database.

2.2.2 Web Server Application

This Web server application will be running on the server where data is collected. IIS 6.0
Web server can be installed. The ICD EMS Web application can be deployed in the Web
Server. Upon which the Logged Data in Data base is accessible from anywhere in the
world. Through Internet browser.

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Industrial Controls and Drives (P) Ltd,

Chennai

2.2.3 Embedded Firmware on Terminal Equipment

This Embedded Firmware running on a wireless CPU can collect the Data from Data
Concentrator / Meter Connected through the Serial link via modbus protocol. The
Collected Data will be framed as IP packets and the same will be transmitted through
GPRS.

2.3 Terminal Equipment Architecture Overview

Following diagram shows the software architecture for GPRS based Remote Meter
using Wireless CPU.

Wireless CPU
Application Layer
IP Handler
(Socket
Communication)

System Handler

Firmware Layer

GPRS Driver

Modbus Driver

Wavecom Modem with Wireless CPU

(Wavecom Supreme 10)
Hardware Layer

Universal Data
Concentrator

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