How RALI Turns Sensor Signals Into Events
When you use a RALI connected device, you don't have to manually record everything that happens.
RALI devices can use sensors to detect physical changes and turn those changes into information that can be displayed and used in RALI.
But a sensor reading and a RALI event aren't necessarily the same thing.
Here's what happens between the physical world and the information you see.
It Starts With a Sensor
A sensor is designed to detect something in the physical world.
Depending on the connected device, that could include movement, weight, position, contact, time, or another measurable change.
The sensor converts what it detects into data that the device can process.
That means RALI isn't starting with a description like “something happened.” It starts with measurements.
Measurements Become Signals
Sensors can produce many measurements during normal use.
Not every measurement needs to become something you see in RALI.
Instead, a connected device can evaluate changes in those measurements to determine whether something meaningful may have occurred.
For example, a stable measurement followed by a noticeable change provides different information from a series of tiny fluctuations.
The sequence matters.
RALI Can Recognize Events
Once sensor information is processed, RALI can use it to recognize an event.
An event represents something that occurred at a particular time rather than simply a stream of raw sensor measurements.
This is what makes automatic detection useful.
Instead of requiring you to manually create a record every time something happens, a RALI connected device can capture information as part of normal use.
Why Some Changes Aren't Events
Physical sensors operate in the real world, where measurements naturally move.
A device can be touched.
An object can shift slightly.
A surface can move.
Measurements can fluctuate.
For that reason, treating every small sensor change as a separate event would create information that isn't very useful.
RALI can evaluate measurements together to distinguish ordinary fluctuations from changes that should be recorded as events.
Why Timing Matters
An event is more than what changed. When it changed is also part of the information.
Recording time allows RALI to organize separate events into a sequence.
That sequence can help answer questions such as:
- What happened first?
- How much time passed between two events?
- How frequently did an event occur?
- What else was recorded during the same period?
Without timing, individual events would be much harder to place in context.
Automatic Data and Manual Inputs Have Different Jobs
Not everything needs to come from a sensor.
RALI can also use information that you provide directly.
These two sources serve different purposes.
Automatically collected information records what a connected device or sensor detected.
User-provided information records something you chose to tell RALI.
For example, a RALI device may be able to detect a physical event automatically while you provide additional information describing what that event represents.
The two pieces of information can then become part of the same record.
What Happens When RALI Gets It Wrong?
Automatic detection is based on available sensor information.
Sometimes the physical world can produce measurements that resemble another event.
That's one reason user input can still be useful even when much of the information is collected automatically.
When RALI allows information to be reviewed, confirmed, or changed, your input can help make the resulting record better reflect what actually happened.
Automation reduces the amount of information you have to enter yourself. It doesn't mean that every piece of information has to come from automation.
From Physical Event to Useful Information
A simple way to think about the process is:
Something happens in the physical world.
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A RALI sensor detects a physical change.
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The device converts that change into measurements.
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RALI evaluates the measurements.
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A meaningful change can become an event.
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The event can be combined with timing and information you provide.
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RALI can use that information in the experience you see.
Understanding this process can make the information in RALI easier to understand.
What appears as a simple event in the RALI app may have started as a series of physical measurements collected automatically by a connected device.