The concept of sensors isn’t new; they’ve been around for a long time. Some of them might seem big and bulky as compared to some of the new MEMS-based upstarts, but they’ve long been important for logging data and monitoring processes.

Many newer sensors are typically built with connectivity in mind, but older ones weren’t. And they’re typically analog. So Lantronix has just announced their xSenso analog device server, which allows you to connect an analog sensor to the internet.

It provides datalogging and remote viewing via a browser. It can send email or text message alerts if user-defined conditions (presumably process excursions or other anomalies) are met, allowing rapid response.

They noted that this is their first analog product. That struck me: analog isn’t something you just wake up one day and decide to take on. If you’re a company with a digital history, then doing analog typically means getting IP from elsewhere (dicey, since you didn’t build it, and your team might not be able to maintain it) or you bring in a new team of designers. (It’s not that digital designers aren’t capable of learning it, it’s just that most companies don’t have the time for that learning curve… and a lot of analog expertise comes from experience.)

So I asked, and it turns out that, not only were there additions to the team, but much of the exec team is new, including VP of Product Management Mak Manesh, who has experience in the test and measurement world. Engineers with analog experience were brought in once they decided to go down this product path.

You can find more in their release…