The Future Is Now: Next Generation Software Systems
The industry is moving quickly to address important data integration
issues and bring real-time predictive analytics into mainstream utility
practice as a foundation for smart water infrastructure. Turnkey con-
figuration processes will eliminate custom software development and
lower implementation costs by supporting flexible and robust methods
of data access, filtering, and integration with infrastructure elements.
Real-time predictive analytics will be generated automatically, using
either local or cloud-based data processing, and served to the end user
via Web-based, interactive dashboards on desktop, tablet, or mobile
platforms. This is happening now with the CitiLogics' Polaris analytics
system, which is a single solution that collates all of these functions and
is based on the official USEPA Epanet-RTX real-time analytics engine.
Using such next-generation predictive analytics technologies,
utility operators will practice achieving optimization goals for
pressure, leakage, energy, and water quality management. Just like
a pilot uses a flight simulator, utility engineers will rely on accu-
rate infrastructure models that are continuously updated through
a persistent connection to the operational record. Likewise, utility
managers will review automated dashboards and periodic reports
showing trends in important management goals and integrate
those with past and future asset management decisions.
Early adopters of real-time predictive analytics technol-
ogy are already demanding more than new sensors; they are
expecting a flexible data integration platform with a real-time
predictive ability that leverages their past investments in data
and modeling technologies. Their experiences will benchmark
the benefits from a smarter smart water infrastructure based on
physics-based, real-time predictive analytics — and pave the
way for the broader utility industry.
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Water Innovations
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Sam Hatchett is a principal of CitiLogics and brings research-level engineering expertise and creative mathematical- and physics-based insights into
designing models and building tools for large water distribution networks.
Jim Uber, Ph.D., is a principal of CitiLogics, a software technology firm located in the metro Cincinnati area. CitiLogics developed Polaris, a real-time, SaaS
predictive analytics suite of tools for the water utility sector.
About The Authors