Smart Entity Modeling for Multi-Protocol Building Data Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional building management systems face challenges in integrating and processing data from diverse sources due to differences in protocols and data models used by hardware gateway devices, leading to high maintenance and integration costs.
Innovation Solution
A building management system incorporating an entity database, a software-defined gateway, and an entity service that stores interconnected smart entities, allowing for the ingestion and processing of IT and OT data from various sources using different communication protocols, and transforming this data into static and dynamic attributes for smart entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple hardware gateway devices are used to collect data from different data sources, then data collection capability is improved, but maintenance and integration cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple hardware gateway devices into a single software-defined gateway that can handle multiple data sources and protocols. This unified gateway collects data from diverse sources (HVAC, security, lighting, etc.) through a single platform, eliminating the need for separate hardware gateways for each data source and thereby reducing maintenance and integration costs while maintaining comprehensive data collection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The software-defined gateway is designed with multi-functionality to perform various data collection tasks across different protocols and data sources. It can simultaneously handle BACnet, Modbus, LonTalk, and other protocols, and collect data from building equipment, IoT devices, weather services, and external APIs, replacing the need for specialized hardware gateways for each function
2Adaptability or versatility
If different communication protocols are used to communicate with different data sources, then compatibility with various devices is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The software-defined gateway acts as an intermediary layer between diverse data sources and the building management system. It implements protocol translation and adaptation, converting data from different protocols (BACnet, Modbus, LonTalk, MQTT, HTTP, etc.) into a unified internal data model that the BMS can process, thereby maintaining device compatibility while hiding protocol complexity from the core system
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts communication parameters based on the data source being accessed. The software-defined gateway can change protocol types, data formats, and communication methods adaptively when connecting to different devices or services, allowing a single gateway to handle multiple protocols without requiring separate hardware for each protocol
3Reliability
If IT data and OT data are processed separately, then data integrity is maintained, but processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The entity service merges the processing of IT data and OT data into a unified workflow. Both data types are ingested through the same software-defined gateway and processed together by the entity service, which creates or updates smart entities using both data sources simultaneously. This unified processing approach maintains data integrity through consistent validation rules while improving processing efficiency by eliminating separate processing pipelines
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system includes an entity database, a software defined gateway, and an entity service. The entity database stores a plurality of interconnected smart entities including object entities representing a plurality of physical devices, people, or spaces and data entities representing data associated with the plurality of physical devices, people, or spaces. The smart entities are interconnected by relational objects indicating relationships between the object entities and the data entities. The software defined gateway is configured to receive information technology (IT) data and operational technology (OT) data from a plurality of different data sources. The entity service is configured to create a new smart entity in the entity database or update an existing smart entity in the entity database using the IT data and the OT data. The new or existing smart entity includes one or more first attributes having values derived from the IT data and one or more second attributes having values derived from the OT data.