What is an automated meter reader?
An automated meter reader is a feature/device added to some
utility (water. gas and electric) meters so the meter need not be
read and the reading recorded manually.
Traditionally utility companies have had employees walk to the
meters at every house monthly, look at the reading on the meters
and write them down.
If the meter has an automatic meter reader the device, normally,
sends the reading using RF (radio frequency) transmission. (The way
radio programs, cordless phones, etc., work). An employee simply
drives, or walks down the street near the houses with a receiver
that receives and records the readings. It's much faster and
doesn't require entering the residents yards, dealing with dogs,
children, locked gates. etc.
There is another, less efficient kind where the employee walks
to the meter and touches it with (or holds near it) a special wand
or probe that records the reading. This eliminates the human error
where the employee reads or records the numbers wrong.