Maintenance system and method of analyzing and/or creating health information for a hardware system

1 . A maintenance system for maintaining a hardware system, wherein the hardware system is established as a measurement instrument or as a plurality of measurement instruments, the maintenance system comprising:

an acquisition circuit;

measurement equipment;

a visualization circuit;

a display being connected to the visualization circuit; and

an analysis circuit,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to acquire a plurality of operational parameters of the hardware system, the plurality of operational parameters being relevant to a health state of the hardware system,

wherein the hardware system is configured to log a subset of the operational parameters or to perform a self-test to determine the subset of the plurality of operational parameters, wherein the hardware system is configured to transmit the subset of the operational parameters to the acquisition circuit,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to forward the subset of the plurality of operational parameters to the analysis circuit,

wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine specific measurements to be performed by said measurement equipment, the analysis circuit being configured to determine said specific measurements based on the subset of the plurality of operational parameters, said specific measurements comprising only measurements being necessary for maintenance of the hardware system,

wherein the measurement equipment is configured to perform said specific measurements on the hardware system, thereby obtaining a further subset of the plurality of operational parameters,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to forward the further subset of the plurality of operational parameters to the analysis circuit,

and

wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine, based on the plurality of operational parameters comprising the subset of the plurality of operational parameters and the further subset of the plurality of operational parameters:

a device health score for the hardware system;

a remaining useful life of the hardware system; and/or

a user recommendation for operating the hardware system,

wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine the device health score for the hardware system, the remaining useful life of the hardware system, and/or the user recommendation for operating the hardware system based on measurement results obtained by the specific measurements performed by said measurement equipment,

wherein the visualization circuit is configured to generate visualization data, the visualization data comprising information on the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation, and wherein the display is configured to display the visualization data.

2 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis circuit is configured to analyze the operational parameters, thereby obtaining rules for determining the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation, and wherein the analysis circuit is configured to extrapolate the obtained rules to unknown data sets of operational parameters.

3 . The maintenance system of claim 2 , wherein the operational parameters used for obtaining the rules correspond to at least one known hardware system having a known health state.

4 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis circuit comprises a machine-learning circuit, the machine-learning circuit comprising a machine-learning model that is pre-trained and/or trainable to determine the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation based on the operational parameters.

5 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of operational parameters comprise a time of use, a usage counter, operational voltages, a time spent in a particular operational mode, an internal correction parameter, an equalization parameter, a filter parameter, a frequency response of one or several components, a booting counter indicating how often a component is booting, an uptime, a predistortion parameter, time series information, a minimum data rate, a maximum data rate, and/or voltage thresholds.

6 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the hardware system is configured to determine at least a subset of the plurality of operational parameters by a self-test and/or by an internal adjustment.

7 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine a device health score for a hardware subsystem of the hardware system, a remaining useful life of a subsystem of the hardware system, and/or a user recommendation for operating a subsystem of the hardware system based on the plurality of operational parameters.

8 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis circuit is configured to schedule at least one of maintenance, a replacement hardware subsystem, or a replacement hardware system based on the determined device health score of the hardware system and/or based on the determined remaining useful life of the hardware system.

9 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine a confidence score associated with the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation, wherein the confidence score is indicative of a reliability of the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation determined.

10 . The maintenance system of claim 1 , further comprising a communication circuit, wherein the communication circuit is configured to exchange data between the maintenance system and the hardware system, and wherein the exchanged data comprises service information and/or test information obtained by the hardware system.

11 . A method of analyzing and/or creating health information for a hardware system, wherein the hardware system is established as a measurement instrument or as a plurality of measurement instruments, the method comprising:

acquiring, by an acquisition circuit, a plurality of operational parameters of the hardware system, the plurality of operational parameters being relevant to a health state of the hardware system;

logging, by the hardware system, a subset of the operational parameters or performing, by the hardware system, a self-test to determine the subset of the plurality of operational parameters;

transmitting, by the hardware system, the subset of the operational parameters to the acquisition circuit,

forwarding, by the acquisition circuit, the subset of the plurality of operational parameters to an analysis circuit,

determining, by the analysis circuit, specific measurements to be performed by measurement equipment, wherein the analysis circuit determines said specific measurements based on the subset of the plurality of operational parameters, said specific measurements comprising only measurements being necessary for maintenance of the hardware system,

performing, by said measurement equipment, said specific measurements on the hardware system, thereby obtaining a further subset of the plurality of operational parameters,

forwarding the further subset of the plurality of operational parameters to the analysis circuit;

determining, by the analysis circuit, based on the plurality of operational parameters comprising the subset of the plurality of and the further subset of the plurality of operational parameters:

a device health score for the hardware system;

a remaining useful life of the hardware system; and/or

a user recommendation for operating the hardware system,

wherein the analysis circuit determines the device health score for the hardware system, the remaining useful life of the hardware system, and/or the user recommendation for operating the hardware system based on measurement results obtained by the specific measurements performed by said measurement equipment;

generating, by a visualization circuit, visualization data, the visualization data comprising information on the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation; and

displaying, by a display being connected to the visualization circuit, the visualization data.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation are/is determined according to predefined rules based on a deterministic algorithm.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation are/is determined by a machine-learning technique.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of operational parameters is determined by the hardware system by a self-test and/or by an internal adjustment.

15 . A maintenance system for maintaining a hardware system, wherein the hardware system is established as a measurement instrument or as a plurality of measurement instruments, the maintenance system comprising:

an acquisition circuit;

measurement equipment;

a visualization circuit;

a display being connected to the visualization circuit; and

an analysis circuit,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to acquire a plurality of operational parameters of the hardware system, the plurality of operational parameters being relevant to a health state of the hardware system,

wherein the hardware system is configured to log a subset of the operational parameters and/or to perform a self-test to determine the subset of the plurality of operational parameters, wherein the hardware system is configured to transmit the subset of the operational parameters to the acquisition circuit,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to forward the subset of the plurality of operational parameters to the analysis circuit,

wherein the measurement equipment is configured to perform specific measurements on the hardware system, thereby obtaining a further subset of the plurality of operational parameters,

wherein the acquisition circuit is configured to forward the further subset of the operational parameters to the analysis circuit,

and

wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine, based on the plurality of operational parameters comprising the subset of the plurality of and the further subset of the plurality of operational parameters:

a device health score for the hardware system;

a remaining useful life of the hardware system; and/or

a user recommendation for operating the hardware system,

wherein the analysis circuit is configured to determine the device health score for the hardware system, the remaining useful life of the hardware system, and/or the user recommendation for operating the hardware system based on measurement results obtained by the specific measurements performed by said measurement equipment,

wherein the visualization circuit is configured to generate visualization data, the visualization data comprising information on the device health score, the remaining useful life, and/or the user recommendation, and wherein the display is configured to display the visualization data.