Automatic meter reading, or AMR, is the technology of automatically collecting consumption, diagnostic, and status data from water meter or energy metering devices (gas, electric) and transferring that data to a central database for billing, troubleshooting, and analyzing.

This technology mainly saves utility providers the expense of periodic trips to each physical location to read a meter. 

Another advantage is that billing can be based on near real-time consumption rather than on estimates based on past or predicted consumption. 

This timely information coupled with analysis can help both utility providers and the customer to better control the use and production of water consumption.

Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI are systems that measure, collect, and analyze energy usage, and communicate with metering devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, heat meters, and water meters, either on request or on a schedule. 

These systems include hardware, software, communications, consumer energy displays and controllers, customer associated systems, Meter Data Management (MDM) software, and supplier business systems, all of which are available through INSA.

ADO, which is INSA’s AMR/AMI Automatic Remote Reading system, is especially designed for use in combination with water meters but, on the customer’s request, can be adapted to be used with all types of measurement devices such as gas meters, electricity meters and caloric (heat) meters.