Agent-Based Power Grid Sensor Framework for Data Volume Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current information networks in power grids are inadequate for managing the increased data volume from growing sensors, leading to unreliable and inefficient data transmission and hindered utilization of distributed generation capabilities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an agent-based system that authorizes and authenticates software agents to execute tasks, ensuring secure and efficient data collection and transmission across the power grid, using cryptographic signatures and resource verification to manage data from sensors and control units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of sensors and controllers is increased to improve monitoring capability, then measurement precision and coverage are improved, but the volume of data to be transmitted increases, overwhelming current information networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic data transmission task into distributed agent-based units. Each sensor node runs independent software agents that process and transmit only relevant data, rather than transmitting all raw data centrally. This segmentation reduces overall network data volume while maintaining monitoring precision through distributed intelligence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces software agents as intermediary components between sensors and the central information network. These agents act as mediators that filter, process, and selectively transmit data, reducing the burden on the network while preserving critical measurement information.
2Reliability
If conventional information networks are used to transmit sensor data, then device complexity is kept low, but reliability and time-effectiveness of data delivery are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic, adaptive data transmission through software agents that can adjust their behavior based on network conditions and data priority. Agents dynamically select transmission paths and timing, improving reliability without requiring a static, overly complex network infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The software agents are self-service entities that autonomously manage their own data transmission without requiring complex centralized control. Each agent independently determines when and how to transmit data, reducing the need for complex network management while improving delivery reliability through autonomous decision-making.
3Adaptability or versatility
If sensors are deployed without intelligent data management, then ease of operation is maintained, but the ability to manage two-way power flow and utilize distributed generation is hampered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds an intelligence dimension to traditional sensors by embedding software agents that enable two-way communication and control. This transforms unidirectional sensing into bidirectional interaction, allowing distributed generation resources to be actively managed while maintaining operational simplicity through automated agent behavior.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed below are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for monitoring and using data in an electric power grid. For example, one disclosed embodiment comprises a sensor for measuring an electrical characteristic of a power line, electrical generator, or electrical device; a network interface; a processor; and one or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions. In this embodiment, the computer-executable instructions include instructions for implementing an authorization and authentication module for validating a software agent received at the network interface; instructions for implementing one or more agent execution environments for executing agent code that is included with the software agent and that causes data from the sensor to be collected; and instructions for implementing an agent packaging and instantiation module for storing the collected data in a data container of the software agent and for transmitting the software agent, along with the stored data, to a next destination.