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Hardware and peripherals

Artisan does / TilauScope adds

Artisan does — talks to a roaster, a scale, and whatever generic serial or Bluetooth device its own device dialog can be pointed at.

TilauScope adds — recognition of a set of specific devices by name, so pairing one is a search-and-confirm step rather than a manual device-dialog configuration, plus a place in Configuration → SENSORS to see, add or remove every paired device at once.

Every device fiche below follows the same shape: what it adds, how it pairs, what changes on screen once it is paired, and its known limits. Setup fields for a device live in Configuration; this chapter is the reference for what each device is.

Note

Pairing any Bluetooth device here can be done from the first-time setup wizard's Hardware step (see Getting started) or later from Configuration → SENSORS — both use the same scan. A device removed from SENSORS is unpaired immediately.

What it adds. A live, two-way link to the roaster: readings in, control levers out. Set once as the machine profile; everything downstream — the roast plan, the guided recommendations, the slider labels — follows from it.

Pairing. TilauScope's own roaster link (used by the Skywalker range) connects by USB cable by default, and needs no pairing beyond plugging it in and selecting the model. Connecting it over Bluetooth instead is also supported — select the model and pair it like any other Bluetooth device — and TilauScope switches to that link automatically once paired.

What changes on screen. Every control slider follows the machine's own range and step, and the guided assistant's recommendations name gestures that machine actually has.

Known limits. A roaster without a supported control link still works in read-only mode: readings only, no sliders, guidance becomes advice rather than a control to move.

Older Skywalker models

An earlier Skywalker generation connects over a different Bluetooth link than the one described above. It is recognised, but its setup is closer to a generic Bluetooth device than to the guided pairing the current model gets.

AirWave — smoke extractor

What it adds. Extracts smoke and, above roughly 30% output, cools the drum — see The guided roast for how airflow is used through a roast.

Pairing. Bluetooth, found and confirmed the same way as any other paired device.

What changes on screen. The damper slider is claimed automatically for AirWave control the moment it is paired, and stays available even on a read-only roaster, since the extractor is a separate device from the roaster link itself.

Known limits. Fan output below its practical minimum has little effect; the useful range starts around 30%.

Omniflux — colour and crack sensor

What it adds. Reads roast colour and listens for cracks acoustically, feeding automatic first-crack marking and the after-the-roast colour record.

Pairing. Two distinct paths exist, and they behave differently:

  • A genuine Omniflux unit connects over a wired sensor link and needs its channels set up once in Artisan's own generic sensor configuration, matched to a specific register layout — this is the one device in this chapter that is not set up from Configuration → SENSORS. TilauScope detects it automatically once that configuration matches, and quietly does nothing if it doesn't.
  • An AirWave can be switched into emulating one, from a checkbox in the AirWave's own SENSORS entry, so a roasting phase feed reaches whatever is listening for it without a second physical sensor.

What changes on screen. Colour readings and crack detection feed the same milestones and records as a real Omniflux, whichever path supplies them.

Known limits. The wired setup path has no TilauScope screen of its own — it depends on Artisan's generic sensor configuration being entered correctly, with no on-screen confirmation if it is not.

TilauAmbient — ambient probe

What it adds. Room temperature, humidity and pressure during roasting (the AMBIENT window), and an acoustic source for automatic first-crack marking.

Pairing. Bluetooth, found and confirmed the same way as any other paired device.

What changes on screen. The AMBIENT window appears during roast preparation; crack detection gains a second possible source alongside Omniflux.

Known limits. This is TiLau's own probe design — it needs its own firmware installed before it will be found at all, unlike the off-the-shelf devices in this chapter. Its crack-listening sensitivity is a setting of its own, independent of the general first-crack detection settings in Configuration → DETECTION.

Acaia scale

What it adds. Live weight capture wherever a weight is entered — batch weight, stock, brew dosing — instead of a typed approximation.

Pairing. Bluetooth. Unlike every other device in this chapter, a scale is not paired from SENSORS: it is set up the first time it is needed, from the first-time setup wizard's Hardware step, or directly where a weight is captured.

What changes on screen. A small floating scale reading appears next to any field that accepts a captured weight; clicking the value writes it in.

Known limits. Two scales can be paired at once (for instance, one for green weight and one for a brew), never more.

Niimbot printer

What it adds. Prints roast, bean and sack labels — see Labels and QR.

Pairing. Bluetooth. Once paired, TilauScope remembers this exact printer and reconnects to it directly next time, rather than searching again.

What changes on screen. A live printer status indicator appears wherever a label can be printed.

Known limits. Requires the specific supported Niimbot model — see Labels and QR for paper sizes and constraints.

AquaGauge — water activity meter

What it adds. A direct water activity reading for a coffee's storage record — see Sacks, stock and conservation.

Pairing. Bluetooth, found and confirmed the same way as any other paired device.

What changes on screen. A floating live reading appears next to the water activity field whenever it is being edited.

Known limits. One coffee at a time — there is no batch-measurement mode.

Colour meter

What it adds. A direct roast-colour reading, feeding the same colour fields as a typed or judged value in the after-the-roast record.

Pairing. Bluetooth, found and confirmed the same way as any other paired device.

What changes on screen. A live reading button appears next to the colour fields in the roast result form once paired.

Known limits. This is a different product from Omniflux above, and a different pairing — having one does not register the other.

Network sensors (MQTT)

What it adds. A way to bring in a reading from any sensor able to publish to a shared network broker, rather than only Bluetooth devices TilauScope recognises by name — used today for storage-room humidity tracking.

Pairing. Not Bluetooth: a broker address is set once in Configuration → INTEGRATIONS, then each reading is picked out by naming which topic carries it.

What changes on screen. Wherever a network reading is used, a ⚙ configure control sets or tests which topic and value feed it.

Known limits. Read-only: TilauScope reads a value a sensor publishes, it does not configure or control the sensor itself.

Pairing and scanning, in general

Every Bluetooth device above is found the same way: TilauScope scans continuously in short bursts while a pairing screen is open, so a device can be turned on after the screen is already open and still be found. Configuration → SENSORS lists what is currently paired per device family, with a control to unassign one — done immediately, with no confirmation step to undo it.

Devices seen nearby but not recognised, or recognised but not yet assigned to a role, are listed separately in the same screen, so a device that isn't working can be told apart from a device that was never found at all.

Alarms: sentences, badges and a timeline

Alarms appear in three different places, each answering a different question:

  • Written as rule sentences, they say when an alarm fires — see The guided roast.
  • As colour-coded badges in the live column, they say what just fired — see The TilauScope window.
  • As a visual timeline, opened from the alarm editor, they lay out every configured alarm against the roast clock at a glance, to check a whole set for gaps or overlaps before roasting rather than while it matters.

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