Documentation Control Center
The ControlCenter software has the main goal of helping new customers with the sensor evaluation in a plug-and-play way.
General Information
Sensor Scanning
At the moment of startup or at any later time by clicking on the ‘Refresh’ button on the top left side, ControlCenter scans all available USB ports for connected SensorBridge devices and sensors and creates a list of all connected devices on the top left.
Please note that scanning for sensors and devices is only possible while there is no active measurement running.
Sensor Identification
If you have several SensorBridges with sensors connected, you can identify a specific sensor by clicking on it in your sensor list, which will trigger a pulsation of the LED lights on the SensorBridge port on which the sensor is connected.
Start/Stop Measurement
To start a measurement, click on ‘Start’ on top left above your list of detected devices and sensors.
This will prompt ControlCenter to start a periodic measurement with the default sampling rate and sensor settings. The data will be displayed at the right side of the UI and will be logged into a file. For each started measurement, a separate log file will be created. In case of an interruption of the measurement for any reason, already recorded data will be still available on disc.
Log File Directory and Settings
Under ‘File’->’Data Login Settings’, the general ControlCenter settings can be found. Here you can:
- See in which directory the log files are saved and choose a different directory.
- Choose between logging data from each connected sensor into its own log file (default) and logging all data from connected sensors into one single file.
The default file extension is ‘.edf’ and the file format is compatible with Excel. Right-click on the file and choose ‘open with..’ to open it with Excel.
Default Plots
All received data are being plotted on the right side of the UI. They are collected and arranged into Sensor families and signal families. Data of the same kind and of the same unit are displayed together in the same plots. Switch between different plots by using the tab menu on top. Every plot window can be individually undocked. If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) all the default plots will be reconstructed.
Custom Plots
There is the possibility of creating custom plots, which will be displayed in a separate tab. Click on the button ‘Add custom plot’ on the bottom left of the UI. Choose the sensor signals you want in the plot from the list of available signals. Name the plot and click ‘OK’. The custom plot has been created and can be viewed from the tabs menu on top of the plot window.
Optionally, a custom log file can be created for each custom plot, which will contain all sensor signals that have been chosen for the custom plot. To create the custom log file, check the box at the ‘Log’ column next to the plot name in the custom plot list.
Custom plots can be removed by clicking on the remove button in the custom plot list. Removing the custom plot will also turn off logging into the custom log file. This will not remove already recorded log files.
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) all the custom plots will be lost. At a later time, the feature to maintain custom plots will be added.
Plot Settings
In each plot window, there is a green gear icon on the top right side which opens the plot settings. Here you can:
- Customize the x-axis (time axis) range
- Customize the graph update rate
- Turn autoscaling for the y-axis ‘off/on’ and choose a min. and max. y value if ‘off’, or a min. y-range if ‘on’
- Choose your x-axis format between seconds [s] and clock time [H:M:S]
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) the default settings will be restored. At a later time, the feature to remember plot settings will be added.
Software and Firmware Updates
At startup, ControlCenter checks automatically if a software update for ControlCenter or a firmware update for a connected SensorBridge device is available and offers the possibility to update. Software and Firmware updates are generally recommended since we are continuously working on improving the offered functionality and stability of the platform.
Troubleshooting
In case you encounter any problems with the ControlCenter software, you can send us the recorded error-log file which can be found here:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Sensirion\ControlCenter\Logs\error.log
or accessible under ‘File’ -> ‘Open Error Log Folder’.
Send it to infosensirioncom with a description of your problem and the topic ‘ControlCenter Help’, or use our contact form.
Customer Feedback
If you have specific wishes for new functionalities or if you have difficulty with any of the ControlCenter features, we would love to know.
Write us a quick note to infosensirioncom with the topic ‘ControlCenter Feedback’, or use our contact form.
Sensor Settings
SHTxx
Next to each connected sensor in the device list, there is a green gear button in the ‘Config’ column. Here you can set the following functionality, if supported by the connected sensors
- choose a custom name for the sensor which will also be displayed in the plot
- choose the sampling rate within the allowed range
- choose to log less data points in the range of ‘every sample’ to ‘every 10th sample’
- switch the sensor heater ‘on/off’
- turn the alert function ‘on/off’ and customize the alert limits
- restore the alert limits to default settings
- turn ART mode ‘on/off’
- set the measurement mode to ‘normal power / low power’
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) the default settings will be restored. At a later time, the feature to remember customized settings will be added.
SGPxx
Next to each connected sensor in the device list, there is a green gear button in the ‘Config’ column. Here you can set the following functionality, if supported by the connected sensors
- choose a custom name for the sensor which will also be displayed in the plot
- choose to log less data points in the range of ‘every sample’ to ‘every 10th sample’
- display and log TVOC/CO2 Equivalent or Gas Signal (for SGP30)
- display and log TVOC or Gas Signal (for SGPC3)
- choose power mode Low/Ultra low (for SGPC3)
- turn ‘on/off’ humidity compensation and choose a connected SHTxx sensor as source for humidity data
- see information on weather a persistent baseline is set
- if no persistent baseline is set, manually force baseline persistence
- if persistent baseline is set, delete persistent baseline
In case you need to transfer a baseline file for a specific SGP sensor to a different computer, you can find it here: C:\Users\<username>\Local\Sensirion\ControlCenter with the file extension ‘.json’.
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) the default settings will be restored. At a later time, the feature to remember customized settings will be added.
SCD30
Next to each connected sensor in the device list, there is a green gear button in the ‘Config’ column. Here you can set the following functionality, if supported by the connected sensors
- choose a custom name for the sensor which will also be displayed in the plot
- choose to log less data points in the range of ‘every sample’ to ‘every 10th sample’
- turn ‘on/off’ Automatic Self Calibration
- set a reference CO2 concentration for forced recalibration
- set a temperature offset to compensate for heat sources
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) the sensor name and logging options return to default. At a later time, the feature to remember customized settings will be added.
SPS30
Next to each connected sensor in the device list, there is a green gear button in the ‘Config’ column. Here you can set the following functionality, if supported by the connected sensors:
- choose a custom name for the sensor which will also be displayed in the plot
- choose the sampling rate within the allowed range
- choose to log less data points in the range of ‘every sample’ to ‘every 10th sample’
- switch the auto cleaning ‘on/off’
- choose the auto cleaning interval if auto cleaning is enabled
- trigger cleaning manually
If a re-scan for sensors is performed (click on the ‘Refresh’ button) the default settings will be restored. At a later time, the feature to remember customized settings will be added.