Throughout the past two decades, LCE has focused on leveraging core radio technology by designing small, embedded wireless systems and protocols to solve particular problems.  Designs completed by LCE fall into a broad range of categories: from car location devices that use custom directional antennas with an advanced algorithm to determine direction of an incoming signal  to wireless object detectors that sense the presence of targets over relatively short distances. As each new set of requirements arises, the LCE team finds the optimal, most effective way to get the job done.  

Portable Real-Time Pathogen Detector

Prototypes developed for the food industry, included detection hardware, control hardware, detection algorithm, touch-screen user interface, PC-based support apps for network configuration and data gathering, dynamic sensor monitoring, and remote experiment management.

Wireless Subterranean Soil Monitor

Designed system, product architecture and partitioning, complete hardware implementation, antenna design, networking protocol, embedded firmware, irrigation control, and all production test and configuration for multiple product generations. Dynamic mesh networking adapts to environmental and configurational changes and monitors network health while providing soil monitoring functions. Uses a dual-band radio to overcome the challenges of harsh underground, wet, and dry RF environments with primarily battery-driven components.  Currently enhancing the 4th generation of this product, reducing product size while increasing communications range and reducing power requirements. Overcame design and performance challenges of variable conditions of probe environment (very dry to completely submerged in water) and difficult underground requirements with specific antenna and protocol design. Increased communications range by 72% over initial specifications.

Growing Station

Left Coast is working with the designer of a innovative plant growing station designed to detect and control the key ingredients used for healthy plant growth; light, water temperature, air temperature, humidity, air flow, water pH level, etc.  The “Grow Box” can be set to automatically monitor these key growing factors and make appropriate changes to keep them operating in their needed specifications to produce healthy plants throughout their growth cycle.

Autonomous Cleaning Device

LCE was asked to assist with embedding a cellular modem and antenna into an existing product.  Antennas were evaluated and RF performance assessed. When LCE discovered large noise sources in the product that were compromising cellular performance, a new set of electronics were created with less noise and less interference on radio performance.