Smart Card Decoupling AMI Device Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
The inflexibility of Advanced Metering Infrastructures (AMI) due to computational functionality being embedded in hardware devices limits the ability to customize and upgrade devices, requiring rigorous manufacturing and testing to meet specific protocols, which restricts the flexibility and adaptability of the infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
Implementing computational functionality on removable smart cards that can be inserted into devices, allowing the smart card to control device operations and provide communication channels, thus decoupling smart features from the hardware and enabling customization and upgrades through reprogramming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If computational functionality is embedded in hardware devices, then device reliability and protocol compliance are improved, but device flexibility and adaptability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the device into two independent parts: a generic hardware platform and a removable smart card containing computational functionality. The smart card is segmented from the hardware device, allowing the computational platform to be replaced independently. This segmentation enables different smart cards to be inserted into the same hardware device to provide different functionalities while maintaining protocol compliance through the standardized smart card interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The computational functionality is extracted from the hardware device and placed into a removable smart card. This extraction separates the smart features from the hardware, allowing the hardware device to remain generic and adaptable while the smart card provides the necessary computational capabilities for protocol compliance. The smart card can be removed and replaced to adapt to different requirements.
2Productivity
If computational functionality is embedded in hardware devices, then device performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and testing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hardware device is designed as a universal platform that can work with multiple different smart cards. Instead of manufacturing specialized hardware devices for each application, a single generic hardware device can accommodate various smart cards with different computational functionalities. This universality simplifies hardware manufacturing while maintaining high device performance through the smart card's computational platform.
Solution Approach 2:
Computational functionality is copied onto removable smart cards rather than being hardwired into each hardware device. This allows the same computational platform to be replicated across multiple smart cards, which can then be inserted into different hardware devices. This copying approach reduces hardware manufacturing complexity while preserving computational performance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If computational functionality is embedded in hardware devices, then device functionality is improved, but ease of customization and upgrades deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static embedded functionality to dynamic, changeable functionality through removable smart cards. The computational functionality becomes dynamic and adaptable, allowing users to insert different smart cards to customize device behavior without hardware modifications. This dynamic approach enables easy customization and upgrades by simply replacing the smart card.
Data Source
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AI summary
A metering infrastructure (10) having smart devices that utilize smart cards (22a-f). An infrastructure having a plurality of smart devices is disclosed wherein each smart device is adapted to be controlled by a removable smart card (22a-f), and wherein each removable smart card (22a-f) includes a computational platform (24) capable of storing and executing program code and a set of application programs (32) capable of being executed on the computational platform (24), wherein each of the set of application programs (32) is implemented to control an aspect of an associated smart device into which the removable smart card (22a-f) is inserted.