Elemental Machines, a Boston-based technology company, announced the release of a product suite that it says may save manufacturers time and money. The Elemental Machines Sensory Network is designed to monitor and improve complex processes in scientific research, development, and manufacturing environments. The company says the system gathers data about otherwise invisible environmental factors and synthesizes it into actionable information.

With the use of intelligent, wireless sensor devices and dashboard software, the Elemental Machines Sensory Network measures equipment performance along with ambient factors. Elemental says that provides data-driven insights that increase experimental and process repeatability, as well as manufacturing outcomes.

The Elemental Machines Sensory Network is aimed at customers ranging from academic research programs, small- and medium-sized biotech firms, to large pharma. Applications include product development stages from the research laboratory to quality control, as well as in transfer to manufacturing and scaling up production. It also may be suited to critical equipment monitoring and fine-tuning protocols and root cause analysis, Elemental says.

The equipment in the Elemental Machines Sensory Network includes: Elements, a collection of small, wireless intelligent devices with embedded sensors that stream real-time environmental or instrument-performance data for different applications; Element-T, used to monitor temperature in critical equipment, including freezers, refrigerators and ovens and able for use in equipment that spans -200C to +250C in temperature; Element-A, which monitors ambient conditions in the laboratory and production facilities, tracking temperature, humidity, air pressure and light levels; and Elemental Insights, a Web-based dashboard that provides visualizations of data from the suite of products and also includes Elemental Alerts for text or email notifications if system detects readings outside of specified ranges.

Elements has already been used in materials science, synthetic biology, drug discovery and genomic testing.