Edge controller apparatus and corresponding systems, method, and computer program
Examples relate to an edge controller apparatus, to an edge controller method, to an edge controller computer program, and to systems comprising an edge controller apparatus. The edge controller apparatus comprises at least one interface for obtaining status data of a plurality of sensors or actuators and for communicating with a remote server. The edge controller apparatus comprises processing circuitry configured to obtain a plurality of units of status data of the plurality of sensors or actuators, the plurality of sensors or actuators being part of machinery or being arranged in an environment of the machinery. The processing circuitry is configured to update at least one model representing the status of the sensors or actuators based on the plurality of units of status data. The processing circuitry is configured to provide the updated at least one model representing the status of the sensors or actuators to the remote server.
1. An edge controller method comprising:
obtaining a plurality of units of status data of a plurality of sensors or actuators, the plurality of sensors or actuators being part of machinery or being arranged in an environment of the machinery;
updating at least one model representing the status of the sensors or actuators based on the plurality of units of status data, wherein the model is a data structured representation that is filled with the plurality of units of status data and/or data derived from the plurality of units of status data and are converted into a pre-defined data format; and
providing the updated at least one model representing the status of the sensors or actuators to a remote server,
wherein the units of status data are normalized by converting the units of status data into a sensor-agnostic data format or an actuator-agnostic data format mandated by the at least one model and the at least one model is updated based on the normalized units of status data.
2. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising a program code that, when the program code is executed on a processor, a computer, or a programmable hardware component, causes the processor, computer, or programmable hardware component to perform the method of claim 1 .
3. An edge controller apparatus comprising:
at least one interface for obtaining status data of a plurality of sensors or actuators and for communicating with a remote server; and
processing circuitry configured to:
obtain a plurality of units of status data of the plurality of sensors or actuators, the plurality of sensors or actuators being part of machinery or being arranged in an environment of the machinery,
update at least one model representing the status of the sensors or actuators based on the plurality of units of status data and contextual information, wherein the model is a data structured representation that is filled with the plurality of units of status data and/or data derived from the plurality of units of status data and are converted into a pre-defined data format, and
provide the updated at least one model representing a status of the sensors or actuators to the remote server, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to normalize the units of status data by converting the units of status data into a sensor-agnostic data format or an actuator-agnostic data format mandated by the at least one model and update the at least one model based on the normalized units of status data.
4. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to include contextual information in the at least one model, by updating each model based on at least two units of status data, or by updating each model based on at least one unit of status data if the respective model comprises contextual information on the sensor or actuator the at least one unit of status data originates from.
5. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein, if the model is updated based on at least two units of status data, the contextual information is based on one of the at least two units of status data.
6. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain a subset of the plurality of units of status data from one or more additional sensors.
7. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to update the at least one model based on an update frequency mandated by the respective model, with the update frequency being independent of an update frequency of the respective units of sensor data.
8. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to aggregate status data of the same sensor and/or actuator over multiple points in time and to update the at least one model based on the aggregated status data.
9. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate derived data from the plurality of units of status data, and to include the derived data in the at least one model.
10. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to validate the units of status data, and to update the at least one model based on the validated units of status data.
11. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to filter out irrelevant units of status data based on a relevancy criterion, and to update the at least one model based on the remaining units of status data.
12. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the respective status data from one or more control devices, such as field control devices and/or programmable logic controllers, being coupled with the respective sensors or actuators.
13. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain instructions for controlling the one or more control devices from the remote server in response to the updated at least one model, and to control the one or more control devices based on the instructions obtained in response to the updated at least one model.
14. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to process the updated at least one model locally at the edge controller apparatus, and to control the one or more control devices based on the local processing of the updated at least one model being performed by the edge controller apparatus.
15. The edge controller apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to provide a user interface via the at least one interface, the user interface comprising a representation of the at least one model.
16. A system comprising two or more edge controller apparatuses according to A system comprising two or more edge controller apparatuses according to wherein the processing circuitry of a first of the two or more edge controllers is configured to obtain a subset of the plurality of units of status data via a second of the two or more edge controllers, or wherein one of the two or more edge controllers operates as a redundant copy of another of the two of more edge controllers.