Although it was shown in prototype form at the NAB convention, Anton/Bauer will officially introduce its new software suite for monitoring and managing the capacity and other attributes of a battery at the upcoming IBC conference in Europe. The new AB-BMS (Anton/Bauer Battery Management System) displays essential information about the battery and other critical information and is targeted at broadcasters, independent camera operators, production companies and rental facility technicians.
The new AB-BMS system includes special software and an Anton/Bauer Gold Mount bracket with a USB connection. When a battery is installed on the bracket, information is downloaded from the battery via the Battery Management software into a PC. The software then automatically opens a file based on that particular battery’s serial number and date of manufacture, and stores all current battery related data for the purpose of usage tracking. By storing this data, the Battery Management software offers users a selectable battery capacity “trip point” for invoking an early e-mail warning as the battery approaches 60 percent or 70 percent of nameplate capacity. The software also provides for end-user defined options for local, regional and Anton/Bauer e-mail addresses.
The Battery Management software calculates how long a given battery will run a particular camera based on an included database of professional video cameras and their respective load rating in watts. The operator simply selects the camera model and the software automatically displays the runtime for the installed battery. The operator can also enter additional camera specifications into the database.
Essential information such as the battery model name with a picture of the installed battery, the battery’s temperature, voltage, present capacity, learned capacity, nameplate capacity and serial number are also displayed. A graphical representation of the battery’s RealTime “fuel gauge” also appears on the screen displaying the percentage of capacity and remaining runtime.
