Daniel Schachinger

Automated test-trace inspection for microcontroller binary code

This paper presents a non-intrusive framework for runtime verification of executable microcontroller code. A dedicated hardware unit is attached to a microcontroller, which executes the program under scrutiny, to track atomic propositions stated as assertions over program variables. The truth verdicts over the assertions are the inputs to a custom-designed μ CPU unit that evaluates past-time LTL specifications in parallel to program execution. To achieve this, the instruction set of the μ CPU is tailored to determining satisfaction of specifications.

Ontology-based abstraction layer for smart grid interaction in building energy management systems

Replacing traditional power grids by future smart grids opens manifold opportunities for energy-efficient operation of buildings and cities as well as improved coordination of energy demand and supply. Current information and communication technology provides a suitable basis for the bidirectional flow of information between buildings and other smart grid stakeholders. However, a common notion of shared knowledge is essential in order to unify heterogeneous grid environments, incorporate information of smart grid participants, and process this information in building energy management. In this work, an abstraction layer based on an OWL ontology is presented that enables semantic representation of knowledge for interaction between building energy management systems and smart grids. A well-proven methodology is used to develop this ontology. Furthermore, the ontology application into building energy management systems and smart grid environments is illustrated, and the functional capabilities of this approach are shown.

Semantics for smart control of building automation

Building automation is an important part of state-of-the-art building management in order to attain most efficient operation in accordance with comfort requirements, energy consumption, or budget allowance. For this purpose, current building management systems enable communication with subjacent systems at the field and automation level by definition of mostly syntactical technology mappings. However, integration of building automation systems for management and control purposes also needs to address the semantics of these subsystems, their cooperation, and their interference. In this work, such an integration approach is presented that enables smart control of building automation resources by the use of semantic technologies. An OWL ontology is developed in order to represent and link knowledge of all relevant domains. Furthermore, an interface concept for seamless and interoperable cross-border communication in the heterogeneous building automation environment is introduced. Finally, an application scenario illustrates the functional capabilities of this approach for smart control in building management.

Interoperable integration of building automation systems using RESTful BACnet Web services

Building automation domain is affected by a diversity of standards and technologies. With the upcoming Internet of Things heading for a pervasive network of interconnected smart things and the need for efficient and intelligent energy management systems, the necessity of integrating these heterogeneous building automation environments soars. Thus, standardized, interoperable, secure, and scalable solutions are required. Well-established Web service technologies based on the Internet Protocol act as key enabler to realize this vision. In this work, an approach for the seamless and interoperable integration of building automation systems based on RESTful BACnet/WS is presented. In order to ease the integration process, the BAC-net/WS specification is described as formal, machine-readable object model. Additionally, most common building blocks of building automation systems including logical as well as physical resources are specified in the form of type definitions to unify integration. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept implementation of a BACnet/WS server is realized in order to illustrate the functional capability of the presented approach.

Smart grid communication at the interface of customer buildings with focus on demand response

Traditional power grids lack an appropriate infrastructure to link the involved stakeholders and domains for balancing energy demand and supply. The transmission infrastructure is hierarchically oriented with active bulk generators and passive consumers. Therefore, a bidirectional communication system is needed, which is an essential component of the future smart grid. However, a set of requirements and challenges has to be addressed in order to realize the intended communication infrastructure. In this work, a multi-agent system architecture is presented that tackles these requirements. With a focus on customer buildings and demand response communication patterns, an interoperable and scalable as well as standardized system is defined, which uses the Internet Protocol as central element in the communication stack. OASIS Energy Interoperation standard is used as agent communication language for data exchange between smart grid stakeholders. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept implementation is realized to illustrate the functional capability of the presented approach.

Model-driven integration of building automation systems into Web service gateways

Accessing building automation systems (BASs) via standardized interfaces gains importance in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). Web service gateway technologies can be used to integrate BASs in order to provide access via common Web interfaces. Therefore, an integration approach supporting multiple building automation technologies as well as multiple gateway technologies is needed. For this purpose, the model-driven methodology is used to define such a procedure. In this paper, an efficient, automatic, and reusable workflow for the integration of BASs into the IoT is presented by means of specifying modeling languages, model transformations, and code generation in accordance with the concept of Model-Driven Architecture (MDA). The aim is to convert a platform-independent model of a BAS into executable program code representing the underlying datapoints. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept implementation based on an exemplary BAS is implemented and evaluated in order to demonstrate the functionality and the advantages of this model-driven approach.

An advanced data analytics framework for energy efficiency in buildings

Todays buildings provide continuously growing amounts of data monitored from diverse sensors. With regard to the similarly increasing energy needs of buildings, accurate evaluation and analysis of these data can be used in order to improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption of buildings. Hence, this work introduces a comprehensive framework based on well-known data analytics methods to process the bulk of data and extract exploitable knowledge for further usage. The approach includes the descriptive evaluation and interpretation of sensed data, the prediction of future energy needs based on a set of potential actions, and the prescription of energy efficiency measures in the form of user instructions and configuration files for building automation systems. Additionally, identified use case scenarios are described, which will be used for evaluation of the presented data analytics framework. Furthermore, current results as well as ongoing work and expected future results are discussed in this work in progress.

Semantic interface for machine-to-machine communication in building automation

Current trends and advancements in the Internet of Things and the Semantic Web have already found their way into the domain of building automation. As machine-to-machine communication and integration of heterogeneous building automation technologies are of increasing importance, interoperability is a necessary precondition. In order to support building automation communication, a customized set of services needs to be available. Additionally, semantics of exchanged information has to be described in a machine-readable way to enable automatic interpretation of message contents. In this work, an interface based on Web technologies and Semantic Web standards is presented, which supports platform-independent machine-to-machine communication for building automation. A requirements analysis for such an interface leads to the definition of a service-oriented architecture. The semantics of exchanged message contents is described in an ontology that provides the basis for a common understanding. Moreover, feasibility and hardware requirements of the proposed approach are evaluated.

Modeling framework for IoT integration of building automation systems

Abstract Advancements within the Internet of Things are leading to a pervasive integration of different domains including also building automation systems. As a result, device functionality becomes available to a wide range of applications and users outside of the building automation domain. In this context, Web services are identified as suitable solution for machine-to-machine communication. However, a major requirement to provide necessary interoperability is the consideration of underlying semantics. Thus, this work presents a universal framework for tag-based semantic modeling and seamless integration of building automation systems via Web service-based technologies. Using the example of the KNX Web services specification, the applicability of this approach is pointed out.