Aggregating sensor data

• US 20060106581A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Bornhoevd, Christof, Haller, Stephan
• Granted Patent: US 7,292,963 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products, implementing techniques for aggregating sensor data. In one aspect, the techniques include receiving sensor data values emitted by a sensor device, identifying the occurrence of a business event based on the sensor data values, and notifying an enterprise application of the occurrence of the business event. The business event being at a higher-level than the sensor data values.

Claims

1. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in an information carrier, for aggregating sensor data, the computer program product being operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving sensor data values emitted by a sensor device;

identifying the occurrence of a business event based on the sensor data values; and

notifying an enterprise application of the occurrence of the business event, the business event being semantically at a higher-level than the sensor data values.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein receiving sensor data values includes:

receiving a continuous data stream of individual sensor data values emitted at regular intervals.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein identifying a business event based on the sensor data values includes:

mapping multiple individual sensor data values to a single business event.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the business event is a threshold value event, the threshold value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values reach a specified threshold value.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the business event is a constant value event, the constant value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values remain the same for a specified period of time.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the business event is a changed value event, the changed value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values change within a specified period of time.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the business event is a rising edge event, the rising edge event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values rise more than a specified level of steepness.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the business event is a falling edge event, the falling edge event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values fall more than a specified level of steepness.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein:

the enterprise application is a product life management application; and

the sensor device is an environmental sensor that measures an environmental condition affecting one or more products managed by the product life management application.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein:

the environmental condition is one of temperature, humidity, acceleration, pressure, light, position, movement, or sound.

11. A system comprising:

one or more enterprise applications;

one or more data acquisition devices, the data acquisition devices including both periodic devices that emit periodic data and aperiodic devices that emit aperiodic data, periodic data being data that is emitted continuously at regular intervals, aperiodic data being data that is emitted at irregular intervals; and

a data integration system that connects the enterprise applications to the data acquisition devices, wherein the data integration system includes processors for processing the periodic data and processors for processing the aperiodic data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the processors for processing periodic data include a sensor data aggregator, the sensor data aggregator being software that is operable to perform operations including;

receiving sensor data values emitted by one or more of the periodic devices;

identifying the occurrence of a business event based on the sensor data values; and

notifying an enterprise application of the occurrence of the business event, the business event being semantically at a higher-level than the sensor data values.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein identifying a business event based on the sensor data values includes:

mapping multiple individual sensor data values to a single business event.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the business event is a threshold value event, the threshold value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values reach a threshold value.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the business event is a constant value event, the constant value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values remain the same for a specified period of time.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the business event is a changed value event, the changed value event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values change within a specified period of time.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the business event is a rising edge event, the rising edge event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values rise more than a specified level of steepness.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the business event is a falling edge event, the falling edge event being an event that occurs when the sensor data values fall more than a specified level of steepness.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the enterprise applications include a product life management application; and

the data acquisition devices include an environmental sensor that measures an environmental condition affecting one or more products managed by the product life management application.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein:

the environmental condition is one of temperature, humidity, acceleration, pressure, light, position, movement, or sound.