Edge Controller for Unified Facility Data Normalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IIOT management systems face challenges in providing a unified data management solution for diverse facility management systems, as they often deal with different equipment, communication protocols, data formats, and ontologies, making it difficult to deploy a system that can efficiently manage varied operations.
Innovation Solution
An edge controller capable of automatically discovering and identifying assets, collecting diverse data types, transforming complex data into a unified format, and providing this data to a remote server, thereby enabling efficient data analysis and meaningful insights.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a unified IIOT management system is deployed to manage diverse facility systems, then data management efficiency is improved, but the system complexity increases due to different equipment, protocols, and data formats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an edge controller as an intermediary device between diverse facility systems and the centralized management platform. This edge controller handles protocol translation, data normalization, and local preprocessing, thereby managing system complexity locally while enabling efficient unified data management at the cloud level without requiring the centralized system to directly handle all protocol variations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the IIOT management system into distributed edge controllers and a centralized cloud platform. Each edge controller independently manages local data collection and preprocessing for its connected devices, dividing the overall complex task of managing diverse protocols and data formats across multiple independent units rather than requiring a single monolithic system
2Adaptability or versatility
If diverse data types from different equipment are collected and transformed into unified format, then data compatibility is improved, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by performing data normalization, validation, and filtering at the edge controller before data is transmitted to the cloud platform. This preprocessing ensures that data is already in a compatible unified format when it reaches the centralized system, eliminating the need for time-consuming transformation operations at the cloud level and reducing overall processing time
3Ease of operation
If automated asset discovery and identification is implemented, then deployment ease is improved, but the initial setup complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated asset discovery and identification features in the edge controller. The system automatically detects connected devices, identifies their types and protocols, and configures appropriate data collection parameters without requiring manual intervention. This automation simplifies deployment for end users while the underlying complexity of supporting multiple protocols and device types is managed by the system's automatic configuration mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
An edge controller may be used for obtaining device data from one or more local devices at a local facility and to provide a representation of at least some of the device data to a remote server. The edge controller may include a network communication port, a cellular communication port and a device communication port. A controller is operatively coupled to the network communication port, the cellular communication port and the device communication port and is configured to receive configuration information and to install the received configuration information on the edge controller. The installed configuration information configures the controller to obtain the device data from the one or more local devices and to send a representation of at least some of the device data to the remote server.