A Platform for Intelligent Environments
In this post, I’ll explain the architecture of Current by GE’s intelligent environment platform. The key differentiator is that it’s open at the top and at the bottom so we can integrate with best-of-breed hardware and software to provide the most innovative solutions to our customers.
The bottom layer of the architecture consists of three types of data sources:
The intelligent lighting network underpins this platform strategy. It comprises scalable and cost-effective ZigBee-based sensors, actuators and controls to collect temperature, humidity, occupancy, ambient light, CO2 and many other types of data. These devices communicate wirelessly with a gateway that streams data into the Predix cloud.
Lighting is the largest network in a commercial or industrial building and offers the following benefits:
The lighting network doesn’t just provide illumination, sensing and control. Current embeds codes in the light emitted by LED fixtures to support indoor positioning. An app running on a smart phone receives these codes using the phone’s camera to determine its position with 10 cm accuracy. We also embed BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacons in lights to support proximity-based indoor positioning. The positioning data is delivered to the platform for further analysis like the number of visitors in a retail store, frequency of visits, etc.
A building has many subsystems like HVAC, solar, refrigeration, access control etc. Typically, these are siloed. Current unlocks these silos to provide one view of the data and access to boilers, chillers, pumps, refrigerators, thermostats, and many other data control elements using the Niagara framework gateway (aka JACE box).
A plethora of useful data is accessible over the Internet such as weather, smart meter, utility tariff, billing, etc. We gather them using the provider’s APIs. This makes our platform “open at the bottom” meaning that it leverages data from any system.
Current’s intelligent environment platform is built on Predix, a cloud-based operating system for developing and deploying industrial Internet applications designed for the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of people, machines, Big Data and analytics.
