Autonomous Building Sensor Commissioning With Registration Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of commissioning environmental sensors in buildings is expensive and unreliable, often requiring manual registration, calibration, and maintenance, which can be disruptive and limits the number and types of devices that can be installed, especially due to the lack of comprehensive monitoring data for HVAC systems.
Innovation Solution
A portable electronic device is programmed to autonomously detect and commission building environmental sensors by retrieving identifiers, determining registration status, performing calibration, and transferring configuration parameters, using image recognition, beacons, or triangulation to locate sensors and implement commissioning processes, including calibration and battery level checks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual commissioning processes are used for sensor registration and calibration, then comprehensive monitoring data can be obtained, but the process becomes expensive and disruptive to ongoing occupant activity
Solution Approach 1:
The commissioning system performs automatic sensor detection, registration, and calibration without requiring manual intervention. The system services itself by autonomously navigating the building, detecting sensors through cameras and RFID readers, retrieving identifiers, and completing commissioning tasks programmatically, thereby eliminating the need for expensive and disruptive manual commissioning processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical commissioning processes with an automated electronic system. The mechanical/manual actions of physically locating, registering, and calibrating sensors are substituted by an electronic autonomous device that uses cameras, RFID readers, and software algorithms to detect, identify, and commission sensors automatically
2Loss of information
If system identification procedures are performed by adjusting actuators over a wide range, then comprehensive monitoring data is collected, but occupant activity is significantly disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous commissioning system performs sensor detection, registration, and basic calibration before any system identification procedures. This preliminary commissioning establishes a baseline state and allows subsequent identification procedures to be performed with minimal disruption, as the system already has registered sensors and can operate in a more controlled manner
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs calibration by detecting environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, light) and adjusting sensor parameters to match actual conditions. This parameter-based calibration approach collects comprehensive monitoring data while avoiding the need for extreme actuator adjustments that would disrupt occupants
3Productivity
If automatic commissioning is implemented without checking registration status, then commissioning speed increases, but unregistered sensors may be incorrectly commissioned
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the autonomous device detects a sensor, retrieves its identifier, checks the control system to determine if it is already registered, and then decides whether to proceed with commissioning. This feedback loop ensures that automatic commissioning only occurs for unregistered sensors, maintaining accuracy while preserving speed through automation
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems to commission building environmental sensors are disclosed. The system include a device that will move about the environment of a building (inside and/or outside) and detect building environmental sensor devices that are installed in the environment. For each of the sensor devices, in response to detecting the sensor device, the system will retrieve an identifier for the sensor device, and it will determine whether the sensor device is registered with a control system. If the sensor device is registered with the control system, the system will not automatically implement a commissioning process with the sensor device. If the sensor device is not registered with the control system, the system will automatically implement the commissioning process with the sensor device.