Finding the value needle in the Big Data haystack

Why would I look in a Haystack for an approach to sort, connect, and make my big data useful? Well, it all depends on the Haystack: http://www.projecthaystack.org/

What is Project Haystack?

Project Haystack is an open source initiative to streamline working with data from the Internet of Things. It can standardize semantic data models and web services with the goal of making it easier to unlock value from the vast quantity of data being generated by the smart devices that permeate our homes, buildings, factories, and cities. Applications include automation, mechanical systems, energy, HVAC, lighting, and other environmental systems.

The Project Haystack Organization is an open source community of people and companies who share the vision that a connected, collaborative community can move the industry forward in ways that no single supplier can. The Project Haystack Organization is a 501(c) nonprofit trade association supported by its member companies, other organizations and individuals.

There is no question that data from the Internet of Things and the analytics and visualization technologies that have emerged to create value from that data are revolutionizing the way we manage and operate buildings, equipment systems energy and our physical world. Along with real, tangible results, the field is also experiencing a significant amount of hype. This hype can result in confusion for end users and even the most experienced industry practitioners.  It’s a known fact that machine data can produce amazing results – it’s also known that it takes real work, knowledge of the underlying systems, and new skills to implement successful data solutions.

The Project Haystack community is singularly focused on addressing the real world challenges involved in using machine data to create and drive value. Haystack Connect 2017 (https://www.haystackconnect.org/), scheduled for May 8^th – 10^th 2017 in Tampa, Florida, is an event designed to connect companies, communities and people who are redefining smart and connected systems. There are plenty of reasons to attend:

• Meet and network with leading experts that are implementing real world solutions that combine diverse devices, systems, data and protocols
• See the very latest software and hardware solutions for the Building IoT
• Increase your knowledge about Project-Haystack standards and how to use Haystack tagging to streamline engineering and deployment of smart systems

Haystack Connect 2017 is organized and produced by The Project Haystack Organization that builds on the inspiration and mission of the community to address the challenges of making smart device data work seamlessly across applications of all types.

One of the things I’m looking forward to at Haystack Connect 2017 is The Community Track – Bringing Together the Activities of Standards Groups and Open Source Communities. Sessions are scheduled to include:

• Promoting Haystack Tagging in CMMS, EAM, and ERP for Industrial Control System Integration and Predictive Maintenance
• Department of Energy Support for FDD
• Use of Metadata and Semantic Tagging in BACnet® and ASHRAE Efforts on Metadata
• Sedona Alliance – Furthering the Options for Open Control Platforms

(The Sedona Alliance is a not-for-profit (501c) trade association created to promote Sedona Framework as an open control language for use by the public without restriction. The Alliance represents the interests of a Sedona community consisting of developers who make Sedona products and integrators that create Sedona applications.)

In this article on AutomatedBuildings.com The Label Maker...is You: Appreciating How Metadata Makes AI Possible - Therese Sullivan, Principal, BuildingContext Ltd, talks about how semantics is the key to needle-in-the-haystack problem of finding value in Big Data. She quotes three leading professors from the field of semantic web research:

…Bringing a new kind of semantics to the Web is becoming an important aspect of making Web data smarter and getting it to work for us. Achieving this objective will require research that provides more meaningful services and that relies less on logic-based approaches and more on evidence-based ones.

… crowdsourcing approaches allow us to capture semantics that may be less precise but more reflective of the collective wisdom

…We believe our fellow computer scientists can both benefit from the additional semantics and structure of the data available on the Web and contribute to building and using these structures, creating a virtuous circle.

Labeling, edge computing, artificial intelligence—these are three pieces of the same puzzle—a puzzle that seems to be coming together very fast right now.

This is a great read to get you ready to become your industry segment Label Maker:

http://project-haystack.org/file/23/Haystack-Connections-Magazine-Issue-2-Jan-2017.pdf

So open source your mind and stick your head in the Haystack and find out more about the meaningful naming of the IoT and the rapid evolution of the open source of things.