Cyber-Enabled Asset Tracking with Predictive State Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current inventory and asset management systems are limited in tracking the location, condition, and value of both tangible and intangible assets, lack predictive capabilities, and cannot optimize asset management based on future states or priorities.
Innovation Solution
A geolocation-aware, cyber-enabled infrastructure inventory and asset management system that uses wireless computing devices with sensors to track asset states, stores data in a multi-dimensional time series database, applies predictive models to predict unknown states, and optimizes asset management through parametric evaluations and optimization engines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If current inventory and asset management systems are used to track assets, then basic location tracking is achieved, but comprehensive tracking of location, condition, and value of both tangible and intangible assets is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates multiple asset tracking functions into a single unified platform that simultaneously monitors location, condition, and value of both tangible and intangible assets. The cyber-enabled infrastructure uses standardized data models and interfaces that can handle diverse asset types through common protocols, eliminating the need for separate tracking systems for different asset categories.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cyber-enabled intermediaries (sensors, tags, and digital representations) that bridge physical assets and the management system. These intermediaries capture and transmit asset state information automatically, serving as mediators between the physical asset reality and the digital management platform, thereby comprehensive information collection without requiring direct system-asset interaction.
2Speed
If scanning or coding at transition points is used to identify asset location, then general location is identified, but real-time continuous location tracking is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous real-time tracking using cyber-enabled devices that constantly transmit asset location and state information. Instead of periodic scanning at transition points, sensors and tags maintain uninterrupted communication with the management system, ensuring continuous visibility of asset positions and conditions without gaps or manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual scanning and physical search mechanisms with automated electronic sensing and wireless communication systems. Cyber-enabled tags and sensors substitute for barcode scanners and manual inventory checks, enabling automatic, real-time location identification and eliminating the need for physical asset searches.
3Loss of information
If environmental monitoring is performed separately from inventory management, then environmental conditions are monitored, but integration of environmental data into asset management is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges environmental monitoring functions with inventory and asset management into a single integrated platform. Environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, shock, light) are combined with asset tracking capabilities, allowing simultaneous monitoring of both asset location and environmental conditions through unified data collection and management infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cyber-enabled infrastructure uses multi-functional sensors and data collection mechanisms that simultaneously capture asset location, environmental conditions, and asset state information. This universal approach allows a single system component to perform multiple monitoring functions, eliminating separate environmental monitoring systems and their associated complexity.
4Loss of information
If only current state of assets is tracked, then current asset status is known, but predictive capabilities for future states are not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of current asset states and environmental conditions to predict future asset states before they occur. By continuously monitoring asset conditions and environmental factors, the system forecasts future asset states (such as degradation, location changes, or value fluctuations) and enables proactive decision-making before actual state changes occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback loops where predicted future states are compared with actual observed states, allowing the system to refine its predictive models continuously. This feedback mechanism uses historical data and actual asset behavior to improve prediction accuracy over time, creating a self-learning system that reduces complexity through pattern recognition rather than complex theoretical modeling.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for geolocation-aware, cyber-enabled infrastructure inventory and asset management with state prediction capability. The system tracks tangible and intangible assets, including states associated with each asset such as the location, condition, and value of each asset. Physical assets may be cyber-enabled by attaching wireless computing devices to some or all of the physical assets to provide data about the physical assets using sensors of the computing devices, including but not limited to, such data as location, conditions of storage, and hours of operation or use. Data for each item is stored in a multi-dimensional time series database, which keeps a historical record of the states of each item. Unknown or future states can be predicted by applying predictive models to the time series data. Parametric evaluations of current and predicted future states can be used to optimize the assets against an objective.