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Title:
IMPLEMENTATION PLATFORM ARRANGEMENT
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2018/220494
Kind Code:
A2
Inventors:
FURTER GERHARD (ZA)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2018/053731
Publication Date:
December 06, 2018
Filing Date:
May 25, 2018
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
NAXIAN SYSTEMS PTY LTD (ZA)
International Classes:
G06Q90/00
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
GERNTHOLTZ, Otto Carl (ZA)
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Claims:
PATENT CLAIMS

1 . An implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of an loT (Internet of Things), includes

(a) a control system; and

(b) an associated framework adapted to offer a powerful, transparent integration platform having integration surfaces or layers, with real-time, inline analytical structures.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , in which data is assimilated via the integration surfaces or layers in real-time and analyzed for operational payload thereby providing a result.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which the result determines a response from the control system resulting in influence in the physical or virtual environment through the arrangement's integration surface or layer.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, in which the result is a set of basic devices achieving a complex and sophisticated value offering without the addition of any augmenting circuitry or systems.

5. An arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is adapted to support the use of loT definitions through the implementation of specific system features.

6. An implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of an loT (Internet of Things) substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. An implementation platform arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A method for operating an implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of an loT (Internet of Things) substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A method for operating an implementation platform arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description:
IMPLEMENTATION PLATFORM ARRANGEMENT

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to an implementation platform arrangement.

More particularly, the present invention relates to an implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of the Internet of Things.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

The basis of the Internet of Things (loT) is intelligent collaboration between devices with a common mandate. Collaboration can only be achieved if the members of the loT can communicate and function in a centralized managed bus which requires integration with the members, as well as real-time analytical processors to guide the collaboration between the components. The resulting cooperative environment leverages each member's unique operational abilities in a complimentary manner, thus facilitating solutions where the resulting feature offering exceeds the sum of the abilities of the individual members of the loT.

It is an object of the invention to suggest a novel implementation platform arrangement, which will assist in overcoming the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention, an implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of an loT, includes

(a) a control system; and (b) an associated framework adapted to offer a powerful, transparent integration platform having integration surfaces or layers, with real-time, in-line analytical structures.

Data may be assimilated via the integration surfaces or layers in real-time and analyzed for operational payload thereby providing a result.

The result may determine a response from the control system resulting in influence in the physical or virtual environment through the arrangement's integration surface or layer.

The result may be a set of basic devices achieving a complex and sophisticated value offering without the addition of any augmenting circuitry or systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

In the drawings there is shown in:

Figure 1 : a schematic diagram illustrating the profiles of things defined as any member of an Internet of Things that give operational or control value;

Figure 2: a schematic diagram illustrating the clusters of the Internet of Things;

Figure 3: a schematic diagram illustrating the Example rules of the Internet of

Things; Figure 4: a diagram illustrating the switching behaviour of six machines located on a factory floor;

Figure 5: a diagram illustrating the rules as applied in an example relating to a system comprising 4 water tanks with associated pumping;

Figure 6: a first illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the behaviour aspects;

Figure 7: a second illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the population aspects;

Figure 8: a third illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the cause aspects;

Figure 9: a fourth illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the precursor aspects;

Figure 10: a fifth illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the affirmation aspects; and Figure 1 1 : a sixth illustration of the algorithm specification of the implementation platform arrangement according to the invention and showing the sequences aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

According to the invention, the implementation platform arrangement for the implementation of an loT, includes

(a) a control system; and

(b) an associated framework adapted to offer a powerful, transparent integration platform having integration surfaces or layers, with real-time, in-line analytical structures.

Data can be assimilated via the integration surfaces or layers in real-time and analyzed for operational payload thereby providing a result.

The result determines a response from the control system resulting in influence in the physical or virtual environment through the arrangement's integration surface or layer.

The result is a set of basic devices achieving a complex and sophisticated value offering without the addition of any augmenting circuitry or systems.

Concepts

Things: A thing is defined as any member of an loT that have operational or control value. All things, linked to an implementation platform arrangement loT, have the following common profile: ntification a. A thing has a user-friendly name to allow users easy, accurate identification without the sacrifice of a precise system identity. b. Unique identification is achieved through the use of a global universal ID that grants the thing a system-wide, unambiguous identity. urity a. The loT is secured against real-world abuse through the use of simple but powerful encryption techniques. b. The loT is GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) aware, and does not allow non-members to participate in the operations of the collective. lities a. Things have defined abilities based on the associated design and build of said thing. b. Abilities will typically be associated with an environmental variable that can be controlled by the thing set of abilities. c. These abilities are only useful if the loT controlling the thing has access to the abilities. d. Abilities have a clinical definition (e.g. analog signal on input 01 ) and a user-friendly definition (e.g. temperature measurement on coil). States a. Things function on controlled state management (e.g. move state from ON to OFF). b. Real-time monitoring of state also measures the environment in which the thing resides (e.g. changes in analog state attached to water flow sensor). c. Measurement occurs in phases: i. Phase 1 is in seconds, and uses short time-burst deltas to determine state changes ii. Phase 2 occurs in long-time storage, such as a database, and is used to archive derived knowledge, identify trends and patterns, and long-term behavioral profiling.

Influence a. Things have an impact on the environment in which they reside (e.g. light switch removes darkness by setting state to ON). b. Influence is derived from the thing associated abilities, and is a factor of how these abilities have been implemented. c. Influence can be defined as the manner in which a thing abilities and states are managed to create a specific desired impact on the environment in which the Thing resides. The implementation platform arrangement supports the use of the abovementioned definitions through the implementation of specific system features. Things are defined in the system as devices having the following features:

1 . Device type: a. The type describes the thing's nature in the simplest form. It is a lookup value defined in the master data core of the Implementation platform arrangement database, and is used to understand the thing's operation and purpose. The device type also acts as anchor for the definition of the thing, in that it's the index against which the thing's abilities, states and influence are mapped.

2. Device class: a. The class identifies the brand specific aspects of the thing. This dimension is needed as things are commercial products produced by often competing manufacturers. These manufacturers implement proprietary protocols and APIs (application programming interfaces) when designing the communication and control logic of their products. The implementation platform arrangement addresses this challenge by utilizing a series of integration engines, each capable with interacting with a specific manufacturer's technology.

3. Mandates: a. Mandates describe the specific operational powers of a thing. This classification controls how The implementation platform arrangement manages and utilizes a specific thing, and is derived from a classification system that encompasses: i. The collection of environmental variables controlled by the thing, such as staff movement, room temperature, tons moved, etc. ii. The influence exerted by the thing on the environment. This is attached to the environmental variable associated with this influence, such as door open/close influences staff movement, heater on/off influences room temperature, and conveyor speed influences tons moved.

Things constitute the basest member of the Internet of Things, and the manner in which things are defined and understood by the controlling system is crucial to achieving an efficient, collaborative loT. The implementation platform arrangement's transparent, real-time integration layer, intuitive definition framework and fast analytical and decision enforcement engine is the perfect management solution to achieve this basic milestone.

Clusters

The key to a powerful and productive loT is the alignment of the abilities and influence of the component things in a manner that produces a result compliant to a client's business case. A thing, by itself, is useful and serves a purpose, but this power if multiplied when combined with the abilities of other things in the same environment. The implementation platform arrangement uses its operational analytical abilities to support this objective.

The key to collaboration in an loT is the ability to define logical collectives with complimenting or augmenting abilities. The implementation platform arrangement achieves this through the use of device clusters. Device clusters are software driven, virtual groups of the implementation platform arrangement managed devices that have some form of common objective or purpose. Clusters are location and circuit independent: it is possible for, for instance, two input devices attached to a single circuit to be members of two separate device clusters. Devices, or things, can also be members of more than one cluster, such as a heating element being a member of both the room cluster, as well as the building heating system cluster.

Clusters identify the members compromising a specific instance of an loT. This feature is crucial for collaboration to work, as members need to be aware of other member things, as well as the abilities of said members. It is logical that each thing in an loT must be aware of the abilities and features of each other member for the concept of collaboration to succeed. Collaboration will be discussed in depth in a later section of this document.

It is also important to understand that clusters are detailed structures with templated behavior. Clusters of a similar definition exhibit the same behavior - this feature allows the creation of policies that manage root-level behavior without the need to do detail scripting or configuration of every individual cluster.

Rules The requirement of the client needs to be codified in a manner that can be implemented using the various states and influences of the loT being mined. The implementation platform arrangement engineer's job is to translate a client's needs into a set of states and associated influences that address the challenge posed, a concept known as Rules. If a client, for instance, requires that a work area's background temperature must be kept at a stable level, this need must be codified into rules that can be supporters by members of the loT. The aforementioned rule may be represented as follows:

Rules are logical policies designed to manage the manner in which an loT will react to state changes in the environment it is managing. The behavior of the loT is fine-tuned and controlled using the rule library, and as such the rule system act as the mechanism used to grant the client control over the implementation platform arrangement driven loT.

In addition to manually generated rule libraries, the implementation platform arrangement has the ability to create rules based on pattern-based or habitual behavior identified through state changes in members of the associated loT. This feature is derived from the implementation platform arrangement's analytical features, and as such is not generated in real-time, but rather through repeated analysis of data stored in long-term storage. The principle is deceptively simple: if a series of state changes are repeated often enough, the implementation platform arrangement will recognize these changes as having a predictable sequence - this sequence will, with user authorization, be converted into a complimentary rule that will simulate the required state changes. The mechanism for this concept can be illustrated as follows: 1 . Figure 4 is a depiction of the switching behavior of six machines located on a factory floor.

2. The machines are used on a daily basis, and have a preset startup sequence.

3. Employee non-compliance results in a chaotic pattern as not all machines are switched on every day, or always according to sequence.

4. The implementation platform arrangement uses a basic pattern recognizer to simplify and derive the underlying constant behavior from the data.

5. Employing the cluster principle, the implementation platform arrangement identifies the devices that have the mandate to generate the state changes required to switch on the machines.

6. A rule is generated, but not activated.

7. The rule is sent to a designated authorization source via mail. Authorization of the rule activates the rule - the implementation platform arrangement will now execute the rule when needed.

8. Rule triggers may be time-based (i.e. every morning at 06:00), sequence based (A ON AND C ON is the trigger) or reaction based (A ON is the trigger).

The ability to automate rule generation is a major contributor to loT acceptance, as it allows the loT to shape its behavior to perfectly match the client's business case.

Collaboration Collaboration is defined as the alignment of the influence of members of an loT in a manner that ensures the achievement of a specific objective. The loT, being aware of the abilities and influence of all of its constituent members, are capable of directing these resources in a complimentary manner, thus offering far greater power that each of the individual members can offer in isolation. This ability is again rooted in the understanding of each thing's definition, and the mandate that each thing is granted. Collaboration is achieved by meshing several rules into a single, aligned rule that satisfy specific criteria. The rules are logically spliced, and duplicate state changes removed, to generate a single instance of the complex rule. This meshed rule is then executed to produce a compound result that addresses an issue too complex to manage using any single rule. The following example will illustrate the power of collaboration:

1 . The system comprises 4 water tanks with associated pumping systems. The central reservoir has a 60I capacity, with three supporting tanks of 20I capacity each.

2. If a condition is reached where 20I is needed in the central reservoir, the objective can be achieved easily by executing a single rule, such as Rule 1 in Figure 5.

3. The challenge becomes evident when the reservoir requires 40I of water. This necessitates the execution of more than one rule.

4. The principle of collaboration is applied: which rules can be execute in conjunction to achieve a delivery of 40I of water? The implementation platform arrangement is aware that Tank A and Tank B each carry 401, and thus satisfies the objective. Rule 1 and rule 2 are spliced, and results in a temporary rule that activates the pumps for both tanks simultaneously. The reservoir is filled, and the objective achieved.

Collaboration offers powerful operational abilities that exceed that of the basic system. The implementation platform arrangement's real-time analytical system makes collaboration a reality, and proves the implementation platform arrangement's suitability as management platform for an loT.

Analytics

The implementation platform arrangement was created to act as an analytical platform. To this end the database schema supporting the solution was designed to act as data classifier rather than a data repository. The techniques applied ensured that the implementation platform arrangement can fulfill all of the other expected function required from a powerful management system in addition to the key analytical anchor. The manner in which external data is assimilated and transformed supports the data shaping needs of the analytical component, and a central rule of 'classification above all else ensures that every single individual data block can be assessed, codified and analyzed. Finally, the coding of a specialized function layer, separate from the main The implementation platform arrangement SOA surface, supports the constant development of new analytical techniques and algorithms without requiring changes to the main The implementation platform arrangement solution - the various dissemination, advisory and dashboard technologies included in the main implementation platform arrangement architecture supports this objective through the application of polymorphic techniques (for instance, the dashboard mechanism can show both standard dashboards, as well as the results from relationship matrices).

The implementation platform arrangement's analytical technology is based on a set of very specific rules:

1 . All data sets must be classifiable, and classification must occur automatically during assimilation of the relevant source

2. All assimilated data must be verified against another, disparate source

3. Data assimilation must occurred electronically and automatically, as far as is practical

4. As far as is practical, analytical processing must occur in real-time

All the implementation platform arrangement analytical algorithms or processing sets are grouped into logical classes. These classes attempt to describe the nature of the associated algorithm, and acts as a form of logical management clustering. The algorithms are coded into the analytical function layer in the form of a specialized web service - this web service, in turn, is consumed by a series of applications of services which govern the execution of said algorithm. The results of these processes are made available through the implementation platform arrangement dissemination techniques purpose-built for the exposure of analytical results:

1 . Advisories: The implementation platform arrangement advisories are purpose- coded browser pages accessed through a hyperlink typically transmitted via e- mail or short message service to the appropriate recipient. Advisories always follow an escalation tree. The advisory interface depicts the name and classification of the associated algorithm, the date and time at which the specified result was achieved and a text describing said result and all information thought to be pertinent to this result. An additional subset of the advisory mechanism is called graphical advisories, which implement the same base technology as standard advisories, but display a chart/dashboard instead of a text interface. All advisories are made available in the implementation platform arrangement-a module of the Implementation platform arrangement client, the implementation platform arrangement agent and the implementation platform arrangement Hybrid interfaces - in the case of implementation platform arrangement's agent, any new advisory will trigger the popup and audio alert features.

2. Dashboards: Analytical results, typically results of a statistical nature or weighted matrices, can be consumed in implementation platform arrangement dashboard scripts.

3. Reports: Several standardized implementation platform arrangement reports have been coded with the specific objective of relaying the result of analytical processes. These reports comply with the standard implementation platform arrangement reporting specification, which means that the relevant report can be viewed on demand, or transmitted automatically based on either a system trigger, or a reporting schedule.

The team responsible for the research and development of technologies made available in the implementation platform arrangement stable is constantly dreaming up new concepts to include in the analytical library, and as such the analytical platform will evolve almost daily.

Conclusion

The implementation platform arrangement offer powerful features for the creation of an Internet of Things from disparate, connected devices. The system framework lends itself perfectly to the support of the loT concept, especially when considering the intelligence and automation requirement of said technology.