Magnum Energy Solutions has introduced a new product for commercial building automation. The cBox or “CloudBox” is a gateway that enables self-powered, wireless devices to securely and efficiently communicate with Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT. The cBox enables smart building control and the remote monitoring of devices, including Magnum’s OPUS lighting nodes, to connect, authenticate, and exchange critical data with AWS IoT using the M2M IoT protocol MQTT.
According to the company, for owners and operators of small- to medium-sized buildings, the cost of adding smart building technologies can often be expensive. The high price tag is usually due to proprietary software solutions that are tied to the building equipment or to LED lighting systems. Magnum provides solutions that allow standalone lighting options without the need of software. If data visualization and remote control support are needed, the cBox aims to provide a cost effective alternative.
For Magnum’s OEM customers, the cBox also offers them the ability to tailor software solutions specific to their customers or their application engagements. AWS IoT makes it possible to build applications that gather, process, analyze, and act on the data generated by Magnum’s connected devices at a global scale without having to manage a traditional infrastructure.
The real-time Rules Engine in the cBox transforms messages based on expressions that the user defines and routes to AWS endpoints. For example, routine readings from a temperature sensor can be tracked in a table and an abnormal reading that exceeds a value stored in the device shadow can trigger a function.
Company officials said the device shadows make it easier to build applications that interact with Magnum’s embedded, data collecting hardware. The device shadows deliver the last reported state and desired future state of the device even when the device is offline.
