Hydraulic engineers have long accepted a fragmented approach to testing and condition monitoring as part of the job. A pressure sensor may connect through one interface, a flow sensor through another, while data logging, analysis and reporting are often handled through separate software packages entirely. The result is a workflow that can slow diagnostics, complicate reporting and make field testing unnecessarily cumbersome. Hydrotechnik believes that model is overdue for change. The company’s newly launched Watchlog Connect platform has been developed to bring hydraulic test and monitoring functions together within a single software environment operating across desktop and mobile devices. Rather than functioning as another standalone sensor app, the platform is intended to provide a unified workflow for connecting sensors, viewing live data, recording tests and generating professional reports. At its core, Watchlog Connect has been designed around a practical engineering reality: hydraulic testing rarely happens in one place, on one device or with one type of sensor. A workshop engineer may begin diagnostics on a desktop PC using USB sensors, while a field service technician later continues the work remotely using Bluetooth sensors on a tablet or smartphone. In many cases, engineers are forced to move between different interfaces and disconnected software tools simply to complete a single investigation. Watchlog Connect addresses that issue by bringing Bluetooth, USB and Wireless sensor communication into one crossplatform application compatible with macOS, Windows, Android and iOS. According to Hydrotechnik, the goal is to provide engineers with the same core software environment regardless of whether they are working in the workshop, on-site or in the field. The software supports Watchlog Bluetooth sensors, Bluetooth Plus transmitters, high-speed USB sensors and medium-range Wireless (500m) devices. Importantly, those devices can operate together within the same application, enabling mixed-sensor monitoring during live testing procedures. For mobile applications the software can also read CAN Bus signals via a CAN to Bluetooth ridge that is easy to deploy and select the channels on the bus to display and record. For hydraulic engineers, the value of a unified platform is not simply convenience. Diagnostic work often Hydrotechnik’s new Watchlog Connect platform has been developed to bring Bluetooth, USB and Wireless hydraulic test and monitoring into one cross-platform software environment, allowing engineers to view live data, record tests and generate reports across desktop and mobile devices. H&P takes a closer look. One software environment for hydraulic test and monitoring www.hpmag.co.uk HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS July/August 2026 33
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