Itron edge intelligence card for third-party devices

Itron has introduced the distributed intelligence (DI) network interface card (NIC) to enable edge computing in third-party devices in existing and new networks.

With the new card, which is designed to bring edge computing power and control to third-party devices, a whole new range of use cases is expected to be opened up beyond the foundational advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

These include in-home smart electrical panels, load control switches, electric vehicle charging (EV) management, smart solar inverters and grid sensors among others.

Initial applications will link the low-voltage network with home energy management, enabling the offer of an end-to-end solution using Itron’s real-time platform.

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“With the launch of our DI NIC, we are extending Itron’s IoT platform to new applications,” says Don Reeves, senior vice president of Outcomes at Itron.

“This marks a significant milestone in enabling intelligence and control at the grid edge, helping our customers achieve a new level of distribution system visibility and resilience.”

As part of the launch, Itron is collaborating with Lumin to enable edge intelligence in the company’s smart electrical panels.

Distribution intelligence-enabled smart panels will help utilities manage load throughout the distribution network, including down to specific circuits within a home in strict coordination with distributed energy resources behind the meter.

This should allow utilities to implement summer and winter demand response programmes without deploying additional hardware.

Through the partner enablement programme, a framework including developer tools and resources is available for other third-party companies to integrate the DI NIC into their hardware devices.

Third-party applications

Along with the third-party enablement, a complementary option is for third parties to develop apps for the Itron DI platform.

In this connection, real-time home energy intelligence specialist Sense’s application is now available to run on Itron’s DI-enabled smart meters enabling consumers to seamlessly utilise the app without purchasing additional hardware.

Sense uses high-resolution waveform data, machine learning and AI to provide real-time insights into how energy is used in consumers’ homes and is expected to be used increasingly for automation as appliances in the home become connected.

By integrating this technology with meters, utilities should be provided with a real-time detailed view of energy use across all customers.

A second new collaboration is with cloud platform provider Smart Energy Water, with the aim to deliver more effective data sharing and consumer empowerment with the creation of a secure and standardised data sharing mechanism.

This should enable utilities and other third parties to take advantage of the new data streams being created by the growing ecosystem of DI applications with the development of new services and revenue streams.

The proposal is that Smart Energy Water’s end-customer experience platform will provide the mechanism for consumers to opt-in to sharing data with third parties, which Itron’s DataHub will use to authorise third-party use of those data.

Itron’s DataHub provides third-party authorisation and authentication services and simple API data access.