16 Ga l a x y C l oud So f t wa r e a s a Se r v i c e f o r Ene r g y Ma n agemen t
Pacifc Controls Galaxy is the
world’s frst cloud computing
platform to create intelligent bots
– Gbots - to manage systems
remotely. These intelligent software
agents are being used to maintain
HVAC systems and servers in
the Pacifc Controls data centres
and in other buildings around the
globe. Gbots integrate with MIS to
optimize and control systems. They
reduce operations costs in building
systems by operating the systems
more effciently and making real-
time data easily available to decision
makers.
Intelligent Gbots form a basic
building block of Pacifc Controls
Galaxy Enterprise City Management
solution. Gbots are intelligent
robots that operate continuously
and autonomously in any systems
environment, often one inhabited by
other Gbots and processes.
4.1 The capabilities
of Gbots
Gbots assist people and act on their
behalf, thanks to their autonomous
operation, modular structure and
ability to communicate. Gbots are a
very fexible tool for integration and
optimization at multiple levels. The
graphic below illustrates the roles
that they can play in smart systems.
Gbots perceive their environment
through sensors and act upon that
environment through effectors.
A human agent has eyes, ears,
and other organs for sensors, and
hands, legs, mouth, and other body
parts for effectors. Gbots sense
using digital monitoring, cameras
and infrared range fnders and take
action through software, electrical
switches and various motors as
the effectors. Within the Gbot, its
perceptions and actions take the
form of binary data – encoded
strings of bits.
Gbots know, or can learn, about
the systems and equipment they
monitor and can communicate and
collaborate with other Gbots to achieve a common goal, such as
identifying and diagnosing problems, minimizing energy consumption,
minimizing operating costs, or maximizing comfort. Gbots can be
dispatched to run on local processors within the systems they are
working on, which greatly reduces the computational load on the
central servers.
4.2 Gbots in building systems
Gbots can play a valuable role in managing building systems. The
last two decades witnessed signifcant progress in the use of
standard communication protocols such as Modbus and Fieldbus
allowing integration of building control systems and building services.
Despite this, little or no progress has been made in actually making
the building intelligent, or in solving the control optimization problem
of interaction with other systems and the environment, including the
buildings’ users.
User behavior is an important factor to consider in systems that aim
to control energy consumption by controlling the thermal exchanges