Hierarchical Digital Twin Capability Inheritance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The development and deployment of analytic and control algorithms for building systems are time-consuming and lack flexibility, making it difficult for users to conceptualize output data in relation to physical building components, and existing systems require manual definition of capabilities and relationships between digital twins.
Innovation Solution
A building system that generates a digital twin by identifying and combining lower-level digital twins based on a hierarchy, allowing the digital twin to inherit operational capabilities and execute actions to meet specific objectives, using a building graph to represent entities and relationships, and allowing user input to connect and configure digital twins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If analytic and control algorithms are manually developed and deployed for building systems, then the system can perform data analysis and control functions, but the development and deployment process becomes time-consuming and requires significant software development effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital twins as virtual copies of physical building components that inherit their operational capabilities. These digital twins serve as reusable templates that can be deployed across multiple instances, eliminating the need to manually develop algorithms for each component. The copying principle allows rapid deployment by replicating proven digital twin configurations rather than developing algorithms from scratch.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-configuring digital twins with their operational capabilities, relationships, and operational data before deployment. The system automatically identifies and inherits capabilities from lower-level digital twins in advance, so that when a digital twin is instantiated, it is ready for immediate use without requiring time-consuming manual configuration or algorithm development.
2Ease of operation
If traditional building data systems are used, then data can be stored and processed, but the output data is hard for users to conceptualize and relate to physical building components
Solution Approach 1:
The digital twin creates a virtual copy that maintains the exact structural and operational relationships of the physical building component. This virtual representation preserves all contextual information about the physical component while making it accessible and manipulable in the digital domain, allowing users to easily understand and interact with building data in a familiar visual format.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin serves as an intermediary between the physical building component and the user. It translates complex operational data and relationships into a visual, intuitive representation that users can easily conceptualize. The digital twin maintains the connection to physical components while presenting information in a user-friendly format that bridges the gap between raw data and human understanding.
3Reliability
If manual definition of capabilities and relationships between digital twins is required, then the system can be configured accurately, but the process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The digital twin system performs self-service by automatically identifying and inheriting operational capabilities from lower-level digital twins through the building graph hierarchy. The system autonomously establishes relationships between digital twins based on the hierarchical structure, eliminating the need for manual configuration. This self-organizing capability maintains accurate configurations while dramatically reducing setup complexity and time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-establishing the hierarchical relationships and capability inheritance structures in the building graph before digital twins are instantiated. The capability inheritance mechanisms are pre-configured based on the hierarchical structure, so that when digital twins are created, their capabilities and relationships are automatically determined without requiring manual definition, thus reducing complexity while ensuring accuracy.
4Adaptability or versatility
If existing digital twin systems are used without hierarchical inheritance, then individual digital twins can operate independently, but the system lacks flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and requires significant reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hierarchical nesting structure where digital twins are organized in levels, with higher-level digital twins containing and coordinating lower-level digital twins. This nested hierarchy allows the system to adapt to changing circumstances by modifying capabilities at any level, and changes automatically propagate through the hierarchy via inheritance mechanisms, providing flexibility without requiring complex reconfiguration of individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The hierarchical digital twin structure with capability inheritance creates a universal system where a single digital twin configuration can serve multiple functions and adapt to different scenarios. The inheritance mechanism allows capabilities to be shared across multiple digital twins in the hierarchy, providing versatility and adaptability while reducing the complexity of reconfiguration, as changes at the parent level automatically benefit all child digital twins.
Data Source
AI summary
A building system of a building operates to receive an indication to generate a digital twin and identify one or more lower level digital twins that depend from the digital twin based on a hierarchy of digital twins, wherein the digital twin includes one or more first operational capabilities and the one or more lower level digital twins include one or more second operational capabilities. The building system operates to cause the digital twin to inherit the one or more second operational capabilities from the one or more lower level digital twins and execute the digital twin causing the one or more first operational capabilities and the one or more second operational capabilities to be performed.