SenseRT: A Streaming Architecture for Smart Building Sensors

Abstract: Building Management Systems (BMSs) have evolved in recent years, in ways that require changes to existing network architectures that follow the store-then-analyse approach. The primary cause is the increasing deployment of a diverse range of cost-effective sensors and actuators in smart buildings that generate real-time streaming data. Any in-building system with a large number of sensors needs a framework for real-time data collection and concurrent stream processing from sensors connected using a range of networks. We present SenseRT, a system for managing and analysing in-building real-time streams of sensor data. SenseRT collects streams of real-time data from sensors connected using a range of network protocols. It supports concurrent modules simultaneously performing stream processing over real-time data, asynchronously and non-blocking, with results made available with minimal latency. We describe a prototype implementation deployed in two University department buildings, demonstrating its effectiveness.