The patent broadly covers creating and storing of all profile information at the meter that is obtained by a remote user via a transceiver and which uses the unlicensed Part 15 radio band to transmit meter information. This exclusive protection provides a substantial competitive advantage for Datamatic AMR systems over competing technologies.

“Our FIREFLY and ProfilePLUS™ technologies were a significant breakthrough for utilities,” said Datamatic President and CEO Ken Kercher. “They are the building blocks for Datamatic’s AMR system, which allows utilities to cost-effectively collect mission critical data for billing, operations, maintenance and power quality from just about any meter on the market. This patent award demonstrates the uniqueness, and ultimately the superior value, of the products and innovations available from Datamatic.”

Datamatic offers the most robust, flexible and user-friendly products in the industry. Products include the FIREFLY® Automatic Meter Reading System, RouteSTAR MVP® Enterprise Route Management software and ROADRUNNERTM Field Computers. More than 400 utilities in the US and abroad rely daily on Datamatic systems to serve their customers. The line of meter reading products is scalable and suited to utilities with 300 meters or 3 million.

“There are two primary advantages that set FIREFLY apart from all other systems,” added Datamatic’s CFO Phil Masters, who headed up the patent initiative. “FIREFLY Meter Interface Units are compatible with virtually any water, gas or electric meter, making it the first universally compatible AMR system in the industry. Secondly, all FIREFLY MIU’s archive consumption data at user-definable intervals using a feature called ProfilePLUS. FIREFLY users have access to this data at every meter, all the time.”

Each water FIREFLY can hold over 74 days of hourly consumption readings. Gas FIREFLY MIUs hold over 330. Electric FIREFLY MIUs archive data at 1/4 hourly intervals for over 169 days.

“ProfilePLUS is a tool for solving billing disputes and identifying leaks, as well as preventing theft and meter tampering,” stated Mr. Kercher. “A utility can also use ProfilePLUS for conservation monitoring, maximizing operational efficiency and planning infrastructure improvements. This type of data was previously unavailable without costly flow monitors or network infrastructure.”

Datamatic AMR System solutions include walk-by and mobile platforms. The combination of these platforms provides complete coverage for multi-utility data collection.

For more information contact:
Mr. Scott Black
TimePiece PR
(214) 520-3430 x303
sblack@timepiecepr.com