ThingSpeak

ThingSpeak provides instant visualizations of data posted by your sensors to the ThingSpeak cloud. With the ability to execute MATLAB code in ThingSpeak, you can perform online analysis and processing of the data as it comes in. Use the ThingSpeak Cloud Connector to view your data configuration and send your Waspmote data to ThingSpeak for analysis and display.

Figure : ThingSpeak cloud

Prerequisites

To use ThingSpeak, you must have a MathWorks account. If you do not already have one, create a MathWorks account (https://thingspeak.com/users/sign_up).

You need a license for commercial use (https://thingspeak.com/prices/thingspeak_standard) or you can sign up for a free evaluation. To use the ThingSpeak Cloud Connector, you must have a programmed Waspmote that is sending data to your Meshlium.

Configuration

In the Meshlium Manager System, select the Configuration tab. The Waspmotes units and sensors connected to your Meshlium device are listed on the configuration tab.

Figure : Configuration tab of the ThingSpeak Cloud Connector in the Meshlium Manager System

The ThingSpeak Cloud Connector has 3 basic operations:

1. Save: Select the devices to enable, and then save the settings to the Meshlium Manager System.

2. Sync: Synchronize changes to your ThingSpeak configuration. This operation creates new channels for sensors not previously enabled. You need to enter your ThingSpeak User API Key to sync.

3. Start: Enable storing your Meshlium data to ThingSpeak. As soon as you press Start, data from your Meshlium is sent to your ThingSpeak channels.

Additional Settings

• Channel ID: ThingSpeak stores data in channels. A channel is created for each unique sensor. The channel is private by default, but you can make it public. Use the channel link that appears after you synchronized with ThingSpeak to see channel contents, or go to My Channels at ThingSpeak.com (https://thingspeak.com/channels).

• Enable: Include data from this sensor when updating ThingSpeak. Each time you change the Enable value, you must save the configuration.

• Interval: Set the interval between updates to ThingSpeak. The smallest interval is 30 seconds. Updates happen in a batch, so this value is different than the sensor measurement frequency.

• Log Level: Choose the level of information written to the log.

• User API Key: Log in to www.thingspeak.com, and go to Accounts > My Profile (https://thingspeak.com/account/profile). Copy the key and paste it in the User API Key box. For security, the User API Key is not stored in the connector. You need to enter it every time you use the Sync button.

To set up your ThingSpeak connection

1.In the Configuration tab, select Enable for each sensor from which you want to record.

2. Select the Interval and Log Level .

3. Click Save . The ThingSpeak Cloud Connector indicates that synchronization is needed.\

4. Retrieve your ThingSpeak User API key:

• Log in to .

• Select Account > My Profile ().

• Copy your User API Key to the ThingSpeak Cloud Connector.

Figure : The ThingSpeak User API Key is required to synchronize your Meshlium settings

• Press Sync to create channels on ThingSpeak and map them to sensors on the Meshlium device.

5. Press Start. ThingSpeak starts logging the data. Your existing Waspmote data is visible in your ThingSpeak channels immediately.

6. Analyze and visualize your data with ThingSpeak:

• Regularize or smooth your data to remove outliers. (https://www.mathworks.com/help/thingspeak/regularize-irregularly-sampled-data.html) (https://www.mathworks.com/help/thingspeak/remove-high-frequency-noise-in-measured-data.html)

• Analyze data to find underlying insights and predict trends. (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/47049-analyzing-weather-data-from-an-arduino-based-weather-station) (https://www.hackster.io/matlab-iot/measure-and-analyze-tide-levels-with-thingspeak-and-matlab-efa405)

• Use standard visualizations or create custom visualizations to showcase your data. (https://www.mathworks.com/help/thingspeak/Compare-Temperature-Data-from-Three-Different-Days.html).

Tips

• Each Waspmote must have a unique node name and each Meshlium must have a unique hostname.

• On your ThingSpeak channels, do not remove any tags or edit the metadata fields for the auto generated ThingSpeak Cloud Connecter channels. These fields are used to communicate with the Meshlium Manager System. You can change any other fields or settings.

• The maximum number of records selected in a single update is 200. If all your data is not being sent to ThingSpeak, decrease the interval to send updates more often.

• Use the channel tags feature to rapidly sort your sensor channels on ThingSpeak. Your channels are automatically tagged by the sensor name and Waspmote name. Enter a value and the channel view is filtered to show only channels with that tag.

Figure : Use tag feature: https://www.mathworks.com/help/thingspeak/channel-settings.html#channels-search-by-tag

For example, entering the name of a Waspmote unit shows only channels associated with that Waspmote. You can add tags but do not remove the automatically generated tags.

• If a Waspmote fails and needs to be replaced, the existing ThingSpeak channels can be reused, just give the new Waspmote the same node name as the failed device.

• If you reset the API key of a channel, use the Sync button to update the new keys.

• If you accidentally delete a ThingSpeak channel, use the Sync button to create a new channel.