Building Knowledge Base Ontology for BMS Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building management systems operate as isolated silos due to diverse data representation, technological frameworks, terminology, and communication protocols, preventing reciprocal operation across different building systems.
Innovation Solution
A building management system with a knowledge base that uses semantic descriptions arranged in an ontology, combined with metadata generated manually, semi-automatically, or automatically, to create a unified model of building systems, enabling interoperability through a semantic service module and user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If building management systems use diverse data representation and communication protocols to accommodate different building systems, then system versatility and adaptability improve, but system isolation and inability to interoperate worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a semantic intermediary layer consisting of an ontology and knowledge base that sits between diverse building management systems. This intermediary translates and harmonizes data from different systems using semantic descriptions and relationships defined in the ontology, enabling interoperability without requiring changes to the underlying diverse systems. The semantic service module acts as a mediator that queries the knowledge base and retrieves semantically-enriched data, resolving the contradiction between maintaining system diversity and achieving interoperability.
2Ease of manufacture
If building management systems are designed as independent silos with specialized frameworks, then system-specific functionality improves, but reciprocal operation and data sharing worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the building management architecture into independent components: specialized building management systems maintain their own data and functionality, while a separate semantic layer (ontology and knowledge base) provides the integration framework. This segmentation allows each system to remain optimized for its specific function while the modular semantic layer enables data sharing and reciprocal operation without compromising system-specific capabilities.
3Reliability
If semantic descriptions and ontologies are implemented to enable interoperability, then system integration improves, but data processing complexity and metadata generation requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining comprehensive ontologies and semantic descriptions before actual data integration occurs. The ontology framework, including classes, properties, and relationships, is established in advance to provide a ready-made structure for integrating building management data. This preliminary semantic framework reduces the complexity of real-time data processing by providing pre-established rules and relationships for interpreting and connecting data from different systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system for a building system includes a building system interface configured to receive building system data; a knowledge base configured to receive the building system data, the knowledge base providing a model of the building system, the model including semantic descriptions of the building system data, the semantic descriptions of the building system data being arranged in an ontology; and a user interface configured to access the knowledge base.