Zone-Based BMS Communication Channels for Direct IoT Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current building management systems (BMS) face challenges in direct communication between IoT devices, leading to complex deployment issues and limited collaboration, as they often require data to pass through a centralized server, hindering efficient data management and optimization.
Innovation Solution
An agent-based communication system is implemented, where agents are generated for each device to manage communication channels dynamically, allowing devices to publish and subscribe to messages based on a building zone hierarchy, enabling direct communication and optimizing data distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a centralized server architecture is used for device communication, then data management is simplified through centralization, but communication efficiency deteriorates due to indirect data transfer paths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized communication architecture into distributed communication channels organized by building zones. Each zone has its own communication channel, allowing devices within the same zone to communicate directly without routing through a central server. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining architectural simplicity through standardized channel management while dramatically improving communication efficiency through direct peer-to-peer data transfer within zones.
2Productivity
If direct communication between IoT devices is enabled, then collaboration efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases due to deployment challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic channel management where communication channels are created and configured based on runtime zone definitions rather than static pre-configuration. The channel manager dynamically subscribes devices to appropriate zone channels and manages message routing adaptively. This dynamic approach enables direct device collaboration for improved efficiency while reducing deployment complexity by eliminating the need for complex static configuration of communication paths between all device pairs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a channel manager as an intermediary component that handles the complexity of direct device communication. The channel manager subscribes to zone channels and manages message distribution, allowing devices to communicate directly while the intermediary handles the coordination overhead. This resolves the contradiction by enabling efficient direct communication while centralizing the management complexity in a dedicated mediator component rather than distributing it across all devices.
3Loss of information
If data is filtered and distributed through a data warehouse structure, then information organization is improved, but deployment flexibility deteriorates in edge and hybrid computing environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to information organization by structuring communication channels according to physical building zones rather than using a flat data warehouse structure. Messages are organized and routed based on their destination zone, creating a hierarchical communication topology that naturally organizes information flow. This dimensional approach maintains excellent information organization while providing deployment flexibility, as the zone-based channel structure can be implemented in edge, hybrid, or cloud environments without requiring centralized data warehouse infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for managing communication between building management system (BMS) devices includes a memory and a controller. The memory includes instructions stored thereon. The controller is configured to execute the instructions to implement an agent manager, a zone manager, and a channel manager. The agent manager is configured to generate an agent for each of the BMS devices. The zone manager is configured to define at least one zone relating to a physical location zone or a building control zone. The channel manager is configured to generate a communication channel associated with the at least one zone. The channel manager is further configured to manage registration of an agent to the communication channel, wherein an agent is configured to communicate over a communication channel in response to being registered to the communication channel.