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Application-Driven Creation of Building Metadata Models with Semantic Sufficiency

Conference ·

Semantic metadata models such as Brick, RealEstateCore, Project Haystack, and BOT promise to simplify and lower the cost of developing software for smart buildings, enabling the widespread deployment of energy efficiency applications. However, creating these models remains a challenge. Despite recent advances in creating models from existing digital representations like point labels and architectural models, there is still no feedback mechanism to ensure that the human input to these methods results in a model that can actually support the desired software. In this paper, we introduce the notion of semantic sufficiency, a practical principle for semantic metadata model creation that asserts that a model is "finished" when it contains the metadata necessary to support a given set of applications. To support semantic sufficiency, we design a standard representation for capturing application metadata requirements and a templating system for generating common metadata model components with limited user input. We then construct an iterative model creation workflow that integrates metadata requirements to direct the model creation effort, and present several novel optimizations that increase the model utility while minimizing the effort by a human operator. These new abstractions for model creation and validation lower model development costs and ensure the utility of the resulting model, thus facilitating the adoption of intelligent building applications.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308; EE0008681
OSTI ID:
1923883
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5500-84225; MainId:84998; UUID:659fe58b-07cf-4b26-9297-fcefb62e0804; MainAdminID:68676
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at BuildSys '22: 9th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, 9-10 November 2022, Boston, Massachusetts
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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