Remote application update of measurement device field firmware

1. A method for automatically and remotely updating software on an instrument measurement device isolated from wide area networks, comprising the steps of:

downloading an application onto a receiving device from a wide area network;

wherein the application configures the receiving device to prevent devices other than the instrument measurement device from communicating with the receiving device whenever the instrument measurement device communicates with the receiving device through a peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection that transfers data directly between the receiving device and the instrument measurement device;

installing the downloaded application on the receiving device;

establishing the peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection between the receiving device and the instrument measurement device, wherein the instrument measurement device is connected to not more than one receiving device at a time;

triggering, automatically after the establishing the connection, a software update process of the installed application;

updating the software on the instrument measurement device by the software update process; and running the updated software on the instrument measurement device, wherein the receiving device is not connected to the instrument measurement device during the downloading step, the receiving device is not connected to the instrument measurement device during the installing step, and the receiving device is isolated from any wide area networks while connected to the instrument measurement device, wherein the application configures the receiving device to automatically trigger a verification of isolation of the instrument measurement device from an instrument to be measured by the instrument measurement device, and the application configures the receiving device not to perform the update of the software on the instrument measurement device whenever the verification of isolation fails to determine that the instrument measurement device is isolated from the instrument to be measured.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downloading is from a store offering one or more application programs.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving device is one of:

a mobile device, a tablet, a mini-tablet, and a smart phone.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updated software is fit mware.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring by the instrument measurement device one or more of: altitude, speed, volume, temperature, pressure, vacuum, voltage, current, resistance, and distance.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatic triggering of the update process includes requesting, by the receiving device, a line of code and transmitting by the measurement device a version line of code, and wherein software versions are compared.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing, by the instrument measurement device to the receiving device, a software version number of the measurement device; and

comparing the software version number of the measurement device with a version number of the receiving device.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

providing, by the downloaded application of the receiving device, the software version number of the receiving device, wherein

the receiving device is a digital, touch-screen device, and

the running the updated software on the instrument measurement device includes

wirelessly connecting the receiving device to the instrument measurement, device, and

operating the measurement device remotely via the wireless connection to measure a parameter of an instrument.

9. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

prior to the updating the software on the instrument measurement device by the software update process, isolating the instrument measurement device from an instrument to be measured, wherein the running the updated software on the instrument measurement device includes:

producing a calibration signal by the instrument measurement device,

specifying a target value of the calibration signal, and

delivering the calibration signal to an input of the instrument to be measured.

10. The method of claim 4 , wherein the software update process includes

determining to update a firmware of a first printed circuit board;

determining to update a firmware of a second printed circuit board; and

completing an updating of the firmware of the first printed circuit board before commencing an updating of the firmware of the second printed circuit board.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the instrument measurement device comprises a Wi-Fi server, lacks Wi-Fi client capabilities and is configured to directly connect to the mobile device using the Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection and is not able to directly connect to the Internet or other wide area network, wherein, after the software update process, the running the updated software on the instrument measurement device includes:

controlling a human interface device by the first printed circuit board; and

controlling a pneumatic pump by the second printed circuit board.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the running the updated software on the instrument measurement device includes:

generating an air pressure by the instrument measurement device and

providing the generated air pressure from the instrument measurement device to an input of a pneumatic instrument, and wherein

the instrument measurement device is, not connected to the pneumatic instrument during the installing step.

13. A system for updating software on an instrument measurement device, the system comprising:

a computer programmed to push a software update through an application program sent to an application store:

a receiving device including a display, a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the receiving device receives the application program from the application store; and

an instrument measurement device including a central processing unit (CPU), a printed circuit board, a wireless communication module, a display, and a measuring equipment, wherein the receiving device is not connected to the instrument measurement device during the receiving of the application program, and the receiving device is isolated from any wide area networks while connected to the instrument measurement device, wherein

the application program configures the processor to prevent devices other than the instrument measurement device from communicating with the receiving device whenever the instrument measurement device communicates with the receiving device through a peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol communication link that transfers data directly between the receiving device and the instrument measurement device,

after establishing the peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection between the receiving device and the instrument measurement device, the application program configures the processor to automatically trigger a verification of compatibility between the application program and the software on the instrument measurement device,

the application program configures the processor to perform an update of the software on the instrument measurement device whenever the verification of compatibility determines that the software on the instrument measurement device is incompatible with the application program,

the application program configures the processor to automatically trigger a verification of isolation of the instrument measurement device from an instrument to be measured by the instrument measurement device, and

the application program configures the processor not to perform the update of the software on the instrument measurement device whenever the verification of isolation fails to determine that the instrument measurement device is isolated from the instrument to be measured.

14. A system for updating software, the system comprising:

a first memory device storing a mobile application program containing a software update;

a mobile computing device configured to download and execute the application program; and

a measurement device including a measuring equipment, a wireless communication module, and a second memory device to store updateable software;

the measurement device being configured to communicate with the mobile computing device using the wireless communication module;

the mobile computing device being configured, when executing the mobile application program, to automatically compare a line of code from the measurement device with a line of code from the mobile application program to determine whether to update the updateable software of the measurement device; and

the mobile computing device being configured, when executing the mobile application program, to communicate with the measurement device using a peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection that transfers data directly between the mobile device and the measurement device and to isolate the mobile device from communication with external compute devices other than the measurement device, wherein after establishing the peer-to-peer wireless Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection between the mobile computing device and the measurement device, the updateable software is updated automatically, the mobile computing device is not connected to the measurement device during the downloading, the mobile computing device is isolated from any wide area networks while connected to the measurement device, the application program configures the mobile computing device to automatically trigger a verification of isolation of the measurement equipment from an instrument to be measured by the measurement equipment, and the application program configures the mobile computing device not to perform the update of the software on the measurement device whenever the verification of isolation fails to determine that the measurement equipment is isolated from the instrument to be measured.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the measuring equipment further includes a pneumatic port, a valve, a sensor, a pressure regulator, a water separator, a pressure pump, and a vacuum pump.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the measurement device comprises a Wi-Fi server and lacks Wi-Fi client capabilities, and

wherein the measurement device is configured to connect to the mobile device using the Wi-Fi Direct protocol connection and is not able to directly connect to the Internet or other wide area network.