Patent Description:
Control systems can include a large number of control assets that are divided between parts of a building or other facility, between different buildings or facilities within a region, and/or between different geographic regions in which a particular enterprise has ongoing operations. Examples of verticals include buildings and building control systems, various industrial and manufacturing processes, large facilities such as airports and casinos, data centers and others. It will be appreciated that the control assets and how they are arranged can vary considerably based upon the vertical in which the control assets are deployed and the particular needs of the end user. What would be desirable are methods and systems for organizing large number of assets in a hierarchical model.

<CIT> discloses methods and apparatus for configuring process, environmental. industrial and other control systems that generate and/or utilize models representing configurations of control systems and/or the systems controlled by them. Records of changes to the models or the configurations represented by them are maintained, thereby, for example, providing bases for determining current states, prior states and histories of changes.

<CIT> discloses a lighting control system for managing utility operation parameters, including a ballast control module configured to communicate with a lighting ballast; a data processing module connected to the at least one ballast control module via a wireless communications link; and a wireless internet control center wirelessly connected to the ballast control module via the data processing module and arranged to operate a plurality of utility operation applications.

<CIT> discloses a connected services system manages assets of building management systems of different organizations. An application server collects information from the assets, which is stored in various data stores associated with an account of the client organization, including an asset store, a group hierarchy store, a user account store, an asset ownership store, and a group ownership store.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, figures, and abstract as a whole.

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various examples in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular examples described.

The following description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict examples that are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Although examples are illustrated for the various elements, those skilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives that may be utilized.

It is noted that references in the specification to "an embodiment", "some embodiments", "other embodiments", etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or not explicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative system <NUM> for organizing and monitoring a variety of control assets. The illustrative system <NUM> includes a number of groups of assets <NUM>, individually labeled as 12a, 12b and through 12n. A particular group of assets <NUM> may, for example, include at least some of the assets within a building or a portion of a building such as a wing of a building, or perhaps a particular floor of the building. A particular group of assets <NUM> may include at least some of the assets within two or more buildings that are grouped within a geographical region. A particular group of assets <NUM> may include at least some of the assets that are grouped within two or more different geographic regions within an enterprise such as a business. The assets may be grouped differently than shown. These are just examples.

The system <NUM> may include any number of groups of assets <NUM>. Each group of assets <NUM> may include any of a variety of different assets. Examples of assets include but are not limited to devices such as cameras and access control devices, door alarms, window alarms and the like. Assets may include a variety of different types of sensors, such as but not limited to temperature sensors, humidity sensors, occupancy sensors, lighting sensors and the like. In some cases, the assets included within each of the groups of assets <NUM> may include Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system components such as heating sources and cooling sources. In some cases, at least some of the assets within one or more of the groups of assets <NUM> may include environmental sensors such as but not limited to air temperature (both indoor and outdoor), air humidity (both indoor and outdoor), CO (carbon monoxide) sensors, CO<NUM> (carbon dioxide) sensors, NOx (nitric acid) sensors, TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) sensors and the like. In some cases, the assets included within each of the groups of assets <NUM> may include industrial and/or manufacturing process control assets. These are just examples.

The illustrative system <NUM> may include a number of monitoring systems <NUM>, individually labeled as 14a, 14b and through 14n. In some cases, a particular monitoring system <NUM> may be operably coupled with at least some of the assets within a particular group of assets <NUM>, and may receive operational and/or other information from at least some of the assets within the particular group of assets <NUM>. A particular monitoring system <NUM> may provide operational instructions to at least some of the assets within the particular group of assets <NUM>. While <FIG> shows one monitoring system <NUM> coupled to one group of assets <NUM>, it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative. In some cases, one monitoring system <NUM> may be operationally coupled with two or more different groups of assets <NUM>. One group of assets <NUM> may, for example, be operationally coupled with two or more different monitoring systems <NUM>.

The monitoring systems <NUM> are shown as being operationally coupled with a cloud-based server <NUM>. The cloud-based server <NUM> may represent one or more distinct computing sources such as one or more servers. In some cases, each of the monitoring systems <NUM> may receive operational instructions from the cloud-based server <NUM>, and the monitoring systems <NUM> may pass those operational instructions or translations thereof down to the appropriate assets within the groups of assets <NUM>. The monitoring systems <NUM> may pass operational data from assets within the groups of assets <NUM> up to the cloud-based server <NUM>. While each of the monitoring systems <NUM> are shown as being distinct from both the cloud-based server <NUM> and their corresponding group of assets <NUM>, it is contemplated that at least some of the functions of at least some of the monitoring systems <NUM> may be manifested within the cloud-based server <NUM>. In some cases, at least some of the functions of at least some of the monitoring systems <NUM> may be manifested within one or more of the assets within the groups of assets <NUM>. In some cases, the monitoring systems <NUM> may be implemented at least in part by an edge controller, such as an edge gateway or the like.

The cloud-based server <NUM> may be configured to monitor performance of the assets within the groups of assets <NUM>. This may include any of a variety of different Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) systems. This can include monitoring performance of security-related assets, including detecting alarms. Some alarms may be legitimate, while others may be false alarms that can be canceled once investigated. Alternatively, or in addition, this can include monitoring performance of HVAC, lighting, fire suppression, and/or industrial and/or manufacturing control systems. In some cases, the cloud-based server <NUM> may be configured to monitor or track various healthy building-related criterial that can be used to ascertain how well a facility or a portion of a facility, facilities within a geographic region and/or facilities within each of a number of geographic regions under the umbrella of a company are performing with respect to meeting healthy building guidelines.

In some cases, the cloud-based server <NUM> may be configured to organize the assets within the groups of assets <NUM> into a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to the assets. This spatial hierarchical model can be helpful in being able to monitor and track assets at various hierarchical levels in the spatial hierarchical model, as will be discussed further herein.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative monitoring system <NUM>. The monitoring system <NUM> may be considered as being an example of the monitoring systems <NUM>. The monitoring system <NUM> is configured to monitor and/or control a plurality of building control assets <NUM>, individually labeled as 20a, 20b and through 20n. The building control assets <NUM> may be considered as being examples of the assets within the groups of assets <NUM>. The monitoring system <NUM> may include an input/output <NUM> that is operably coupled to the plurality of building control assets <NUM>. The input/output <NUM> may include one or more ports that are configured to send instructions and other data to each of the plurality of building control assets <NUM> and/or to receive information from each of the plurality of building control assets <NUM>. In the example shown, the monitoring system <NUM> includes a display <NUM> and a processor <NUM> that is operatively coupled to the input/output <NUM> and to the display <NUM>. While one processor <NUM> is shown, it will be appreciated that the processor <NUM> may represent two or more distinct processors within the monitoring system <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> is configured to display one or more screens on the display <NUM> that allow a user to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at a first level of a spatial hierarchical model. The processor <NUM> is configured to display one or more screens on the display <NUM> that allow the user to select a selected one of the first level spaces of the spatial hierarchical model and add and name each of one or more child level spaces that are spatially part of the selected first level space at a second level of the spatial hierarchical model. The processor <NUM> is configured to display a graphical representation of one or more of the first level spaces and one or more corresponding child level spaces as well as to display a listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets operatively coupled to the input/output. The processor <NUM> may be configured to accept user input to assign selected building control assets <NUM> from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets <NUM> to a selected child level space and to accept user input to monitor and/or control at least some of the plurality of building control assets <NUM> using the spatial hierarchical model. In some cases, accepting user input to assign selected building control assets <NUM> from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets <NUM> to the selected child level space comprises dragging and dropping selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets <NUM> to the selected child level space. An particular example of such a system is shown and described with respect to <FIG>.

Reference has been made to hierarchical levels within a spatial hierarchical model. <FIG> is a schematic illustration of an illustrative spatial hierarchical model <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the illustrative spatial hierarchical model <NUM> is highly schematic, as an actual spatial hierarchical model, even for a portion of a building, would likely include additional hierarchical levels relative to what is shown here, and at least some of the hierarchical levels may include a substantially greater number of assets located within those hierarchical levels. As illustrated, the spatial hierarchical model <NUM> may include a parent hierarchical level object <NUM>. There may be additional higher level hierarchical level objects (not illustrated) above the parent hierarchical level object <NUM>, if desired. Under the parent hierarchical level object <NUM>, as indicated by relative indentation, are two child hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM>. In this example, the parent hierarchical level object <NUM> may refer to a campus of a company, and the two child hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM> may each refer to specific building within that campus. In another example, the parent hierarchical level object <NUM> may refer to a company having operations within two geographic regions (east and west), and each of the child hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM> refer to one of those two geographic regions within the company represented by the parent hierarchical level object <NUM>. These are just examples.

The spatial hierarchical model <NUM>, as shown, also includes grandchild hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM>. The grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM> and the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM> are both at the same organizational level, and are both children of child hierarchical level object <NUM>. In the previous example, if the child hierarchical level object <NUM> represents a geographic region, the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM> and <NUM> may each represent particular buildings within the geographic region represented by the child hierarchical level object <NUM>. Continuing with this example, it is contemplated that the spatial hierarchical model <NUM> may include a number of great grandchild hierarchical level objects below, for example, the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM> that each represent a particular zone or space within the particular building represented by the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM>. This is just an example. It is contemplated that the spatial hierarchical model <NUM> may have any suitable number of hierarchical levels, depending on the application.

A number of assets have been placed within the spatial hierarchical model <NUM>. In particular, an asset 34a and an asset 34b have been placed within the child hierarchical level object <NUM>. Similarly, an asset 36a and an asset 36b have been placed within the child hierarchical level object <NUM>. An asset 38a and an asset 38b have been placed within the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM>. An asset 40a and an asset 40b have been placed within the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM>. While only two assets are shown in each hierarchical level, it will be appreciated that each hierarchical level object <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may include any number of assets, and depending on what a particular hierarchical level object <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> represents, may include a substantially greater number of assets.

An asset may be considered as belong to a hierarchical level object that it is assigned to, as well as to higher level hierarchical level objects (e.g. parent and grandparent hierarchical level object). For example, the asset 38a may be considered as belonging to the grandchild hierarchical level object <NUM>, and also the child hierarchical level object <NUM> and the parent hierarchical level object <NUM>. It will be appreciated that within the context of monitoring healthy building performance across any of a number of buildings, other facilities, geographic regions and even companies, the spatial hierarchical model <NUM> facilitates being able to compile and track aggregated data while also permitting easily drilling down to a lower hierarchical level objects in the model, and the particular assets at (and below) that lower hierarchical level objects in order to better ascertain performance with respect to healthy building guidelines.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of building a spatial hierarchical model (such as the spatial hierarchical model <NUM>) of a plurality of building control assets (such as the building control assets <NUM>), the spatial hierarchical model configured to provide spatial context of the plurality of building control assets to an operator when the operator is monitoring and/or controlling the plurality of building control assets. In some cases, at least some of the plurality of building control assets include video cameras. In some instances, at least some of the plurality of building control asserts include HVAC system assets. These are just examples.

The method <NUM> includes accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at a first level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at the first level of the spatial hierarchical model may include accepting a selection of an add new space icon, displaying a pop-up menu in response to the selection of the add new space icon, and accepting a name for at least one of the one or more first level spaces. The word "space" here may be considered to be a generic term, and may refer to any of the hierarchical level objects referenced in <FIG>. For example, the spaces may correspond to a region, a campus, a building and/or a space/zone within a building, to name a few.

User input is accepted via one or more screens to select a selected one of the first level spaces of the spatial hierarchical model and add and name each of one or more child level spaces that are spatially part of the selected first level space at a second level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, accepting user input via one or more screens to select the selected one of the first level spaces of the spatial hierarchical model and add and name each of one or more child level spaces that are spatially part of the selected first level space at the second level of the spatial hierarchical model may include accepting a selection of the selected one of the first level spaces, accepting a selection of an add new space icon, displaying a pop-up menu in response to the selection of the add new space icon, and accepting a name for at least one of the one or more child level spaces. A graphical representation of one or more of the first level spaces and one or more corresponding child level spaces is displayed, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In the example shown, a listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets is displayed, as indicated at block <NUM>. User input is accepted to assign selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets to a selected child level space, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, accepting user input to assign selected building control asserts to the selected child level may include dragging and dropping selected building control asserts from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control asserts to the selected child level space. In some cases, the displayed listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets may include building control assets that are already connected and visible on a building control network that is to be monitored and/or controlled using the spatial hierarchical model. In some cases, the displayed listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets may include building control assets that are not yet connected and visible on the building control network that is to be monitored and/or controlled using the spatial hierarchical model. Displaying the list of at least some of the plurality of building control asserts may include filtering the plurality of building control asserts using filter criteria and displaying only the building control assets that meet the filter criteria. In some cases, the method <NUM> may include deploying the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The method <NUM> may include monitoring and/or controlling at least some of the plurality of building control assets using the deployed spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of building a spatial hierarchical model (such as the spatial hierarchical model <NUM>) of a plurality of building control assets (such as the building control assets <NUM>), the spatial hierarchical model configured to provide spatial context of the plurality of building control assets to an operator when the operator is monitoring and/or controlling the plurality of building control assets. In some cases, at least some of the plurality of building control assets include video cameras. In some instances, at least some of the plurality of building control asserts include HVAC system assets. These are just examples. The illustrative method <NUM> includes accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at a first level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at the first level of the spatial hierarchical model may include accepting a selection of an add new space icon, displaying a pop-up menu in response to the selection of the add new space icon, and accepting a name for at least one of the one or more first level spaces.

In the example shown, a listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets is displayed, as indicated at block <NUM>. An indication of which of the plurality of building control assets have not yet been assigned may be displayed, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, the unassigned building control assets may be displayed in a different color, for example, or may be bolded relative to how the assigned building control assets are displayed. In some cases, only unassigned building control assets are displayed, while those that have already been assigned are not displayed in the listing.

User input is accepted to assign selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets to a selected child level space, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, accepting user input to assign selected building control asserts to the selected child level may include dragging and dropping selected building control asserts from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control asserts to the selected child level space. The displayed listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets may include building control assets that are already connected and visible on a building control network that is to be monitored and/or controlled using the spatial hierarchical model. Displaying the list of at least some of the plurality of building control asserts may include filtering the plurality of building control asserts using filter criteria and displaying only the building control assets that meet the filter criteria.

In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include assigning a unique identifier to each of the one or more first level spaces, the one or more child level spaces and the one or more building control assets that are assigned to a child level space, as indicated at block <NUM>. This may be done automatically without user input. In some cases, the method <NUM> may include accepting user input via one or more screens to assign searchable tags to at least some of the first level spaces, child level spaces and/or assigned building control assets, as indicated at block <NUM>. The searchable tags may allow a user to categorize and/or group at least some of the first level spaces, child level spaces and/or assigned building control assets for later reference.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM>. The method <NUM> includes displaying one or more screens that enable a user to create one or more geographic region-level folders of a hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. One or more screens are displayed that enable a user to create one or more location-specific folders within one or more of the geographic region-level folders of the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. The folders referenced here may be analogous to the various hierarchical level objects referenced in <FIG>.

In the example shown, one or more screens are displayed that enable a user to dispose one or more assets within one or more folders of the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, the one or more screens that enable the user to dispose one or more assets within one or more folders of the hierarchical folder structure allow the user to drag and drop selected assets from a listing of available assets to a selected folder of the hierarchical folder structure. The hierarchical folder structure is analyzed to determine relationships between the one or more geographic region-level folders, the one or more location-specific folders and the one or more assets in order to assign a unique identifier to each folder and to each asset in the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. One or more screens are displayed that display the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some cases, the method <NUM> may further include generating a spatial hierarchical model based on the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. The spatial hierarchical model may be deployed, as indicated at block <NUM>. At least some of the assets may be monitored and/or controlled using the deployed spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM>. The method <NUM> includes displaying one or more screens that enable a user to create one or more geographic region-level folders of a hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. One or more screens are displayed that enable a user to create one or more location-specific folders within one or more of the geographic region-level folders of the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. One or more screens are displayed that enable a user to dispose one or more assets within one or more folders of the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, the one or more screens that enable the user to dispose one or more assets within one or more folders of the hierarchical folder structure allow the user to drag and drop selected assets from a listing of available assets to a selected folder of the hierarchical folder structure.

The hierarchical folder structure is analyzed to determine relationships between the one or more geographic region-level folders, the one or more location-specific folders and the one or more assets in order to assign a unique identifier to each folder and to each asset in the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. This may be performed automatically without user input. In the example shown, one or more screens are displayed that display the hierarchical folder structure, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include displaying one or more screens that enable the user to create one or more building-specific folders within one or more of the one or more location-specific folders, as indicated at block <NUM>. The illustrative method <NUM> may further include displaying one or more screens that enable a user to dispose one or more assets within one or more of the building-specific folders, as indicated at block <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> together provide a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of monitoring compliance with healthy building guidelines using a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to a plurality of building control assets disposed within a plurality of hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model. The healthy building guidelines may be based at least in part on one or more healthy building criteria. The illustrative method <NUM> includes allowing a user to select a particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Non-compliance events are identified that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

The non-compliance events are aggregated for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model may include separately aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model over a period of time. The period of time may, for example, be user-selectable using a healthy building dashboard. A healthy building dashboard is generated that includes a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The healthy building dashboard is displayed on a display, as indicated at block <NUM>. A user is allowed to select a different hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

Non-compliance events are identified that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Control passes to an anchor <NUM>, which is repeated at the top of <FIG>. The non-compliance events are aggregated for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model may include separately aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model over a period of time. An updated healthy building dashboard is generated that includes a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The updated healthy building dashboard is displayed on a display, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include generating a first overall compliance score for the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model based at least in part on the aggregated non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, and displaying the first overall compliance score on the healthy building dashboard, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include generating a second overall compliance score for the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model based at least in part on the aggregated non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the newly selected different particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, and displaying the second overall compliance score on the updated healthy building dashboard, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some cases, one or more of the building control assets may include video cameras, and at least some of the non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines may be detected by performing video analytics on video streams provided by one or more video cameras. The non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines may include one or more of non-compliance occupancy levels, non-compliant social distancing behavior and/or non-compliance mask behavior. The one or more of the building control assets may include a temperature sensor, and at least one of the non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines include a non-compliant space temperature. One or more of the building control assets may include a humidity sensor, and at least one of the non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines may include a non-compliant space humidity. One or more of the building control assets may include a thermal sensor for sensing a body temperature of an occupant, and at least one of the non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines may include a non-compliant body temperature.

<FIG> and <FIG> together provide a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of monitoring compliance with healthy building guidelines using a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to a plurality of building control assets disposed within a plurality of hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model. The healthy building guidelines may be based at least in part on one or more healthy building criteria. The method <NUM> includes allowing a user to select a particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Non-compliance events are identified that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In the example shown, the non-compliance events are aggregated for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model may include separately aggregating the non-compliance events for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model over a period of time. The period of time may, for example, be user-selectable using a healthy building dashboard. A healthy building dashboard is generated that includes a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The healthy building dashboard is displayed on a display, as indicated at block <NUM>. A user is allowed to select a different hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include determining a non-compliance trend over a trend time period of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, the trend time period may be user-selectable. The non-compliance trend may be displayed on the healthy building dashboard, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include displaying a plurality of recent non-compliance events on the healthy building dashboard, as indicated at block <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> together provide a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of monitoring compliance with healthy building guidelines within a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to a plurality of building control assets disposed within a plurality of hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model, the healthy building guidelines based at least in part on one or more healthy building criteria. The method <NUM> includes allowing a user to select a particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Non-compliance events are identified that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some instances, the method <NUM> further includes aggregating non-compliance events for each at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria for each of two or more hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some instances, the method <NUM> may further include concurrently displaying a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria for each of the two or more hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>.

In some cases, the method <NUM> may further include forming the spatial hierarchical model. The spatial hierarchical model may be formed, as shown for example in <FIG>. As a particular example, the spatial hierarchical model may be formed by accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at a first level of the spatial hierarchical model and accepting user input via one or more screens to select a selected one of the first level spaces of the spatial hierarchical model and add and name each of one or more child level spaces that are spatially part of the selected first level space at a second level of the spatial hierarchical model. A graphical representation may be displayed of one or more of the first level spaces and one or more corresponding child level spaces. A listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets may be displayed. User input may be accepted to assign selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets to a selected child level space.

In some instances, accepting user input to assign selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets to the selected child level space may include dragging and dropping selected building control assets from the listing of at least some of the plurality of building control assets to the selected child level space. In some cases, accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces at the first level of the spatial hierarchical model may include accepting a selection of an add new space icon, displaying a pop-up menu in response to the selection of the add new space icon, and accepting a name for at least one of the one or more first level spaces.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of monitoring compliance with healthy building criteria within a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to a plurality of building control assets disposed within a plurality of hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model. The method <NUM> includes identifying non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of healthy building guidelines detected by building control assets disposed at and below a particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The non-compliance events are aggregated for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model over a period of time, as indicated at block <NUM>. A healthy building dashboard is generated that includes a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by building control assets disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The healthy building dashboard is displayed on a display, as indicated at block <NUM>. In some cases, the non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of the healthy building guidelines may include one or more of non-compliance occupancy levels, non-compliant social distancing behavior, non-compliance mask behavior and elevated body temperatures.

<FIG> is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method <NUM> of monitoring compliance with healthy building criteria within a spatial hierarchical model that provides spatial context to a plurality of building control assets disposed within a plurality of hierarchical levels of the spatial hierarchical model, at least some of the plurality of building control assets comprising video cameras. The method <NUM> includes allowing a user to select a particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Video streams are obtained over a period of time from video cameras disposed at or below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. Video analytics are performed on the video streams over the period of time in order to identify non-compliance events that are non-compliant with one or more of the healthy building criteria of healthy building guidelines, as indicated at block <NUM>.

The non-compliance events are aggregated for each of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by the video cameras disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. A healthy building dashboard is generated that includes a representation of the aggregated non-compliance events for each of at least some of the one or more of the healthy building criteria detected by the video cameras disposed at and below the particular hierarchical level of the spatial hierarchical model, as indicated at block <NUM>. The healthy building dashboard is displayed, as indicated at block <NUM>.

<FIG> are screen shots illustrating creation of a spatial hierarchical model. In <FIG>, a screen <NUM> is seen. The screen <NUM> includes a workspace <NUM> on which a user can build a spatial hierarchical model in an intuitive way. As illustrated, a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Oracle" has been created on the workspace <NUM>. The hierarchical level object <NUM> is accompanied by an ADD NEW FOLDER button <NUM> and an ADD MULTIPLE NEW FOLDERS button <NUM>. These options are duplicated in a pop-up menu <NUM>, along with a delete folder option. In some cases, the pop-up menu <NUM> may appear as a result of the hierarchical level object <NUM> being selected. It can be seen that the hierarchical level object <NUM> is highlighted, meaning that the hierarchical level object <NUM> has been selected. The screen <NUM> also includes an asset list <NUM>. As can be seen, each asset within the asset list <NUM> includes a name of the asset, an IP address and may include a current assignment of that particular asset. <FIG> will show step-by-step an example of creating a spatial hierarchical model, beginning with the hierarchical level object <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a screen <NUM>. The screen <NUM> is similar to the screen <NUM>, but includes a pop-up box <NUM> that allows the user to create multiple new folders under the hierarchical level object <NUM>. The rest of the screen <NUM>, apart from the pop-up box <NUM>, may be a grayed out version of the screen <NUM> to make it easier for the user to understand that they should be interacting with the pop-up box <NUM>. The pop-up box <NUM> may appear as a result of the user having selected (with respect to <FIG>) either the ADD MULTIPLE NEW FOLDERS button <NUM>, or the appropriate option within the pop-up menu <NUM>. It can be seen that the pop-up box <NUM> identifies the hierarchical level (hierarchical level <NUM>, labeled "Oracle") in which the new folders will be placed. The pop-up box <NUM> includes a space <NUM> in which the user can type the name of a new folder. The user has already entered a new folder named "Ground Floor" and a new folder named "First Floor". The pop-up box <NUM> will allow a user to keep entering names of new folders to be created under the hierarchical level object <NUM> until the user either selects a CANCEL button <NUM> or selects a CREATE <NUM> FOLDERS button <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the counter within the name of the button <NUM> will vary, depending on how many new folders are being created. It will be appreciated that a similar pop-up box may be displayed in response to the user having selected the ADD NEW FOLDER button <NUM> or the corresponding option within the pop-up menu <NUM>, but would only be adding a single new folder.

When the user selects the CREATE <NUM> FOLDERS button <NUM>, a screen <NUM> will be displayed, as seen in <FIG>. The screen <NUM> includes the hierarchical level object <NUM>, but now also includes a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Ground Floor" and a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "First Floor". It can be seen that the hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM> are indented from the hierarchical level object <NUM>, indicating that the hierarchical level objects <NUM> and <NUM> are child levels relative to the hierarchical level object <NUM>, and the "Ground Floor" and the "First Floor" are both within the hierarchical level object labeled "Oracle". In this example, "Oracle" may be the name of a building.

<FIG> shows a screen <NUM> that may be displayed as a result of the user selecting the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Ground Floor" in the screen <NUM>. It can be seen in <FIG> that the hierarchical level object <NUM> has been highlighted. As a result of the hierarchical level object <NUM> having been selected, a pop-up menu <NUM> has been displayed. The pop-up menu <NUM> includes options to create a New Folder in "Ground Floor", create Multiple Folders in "Ground Floor" or to delete a folder. Selecting Multiple Folders causes a screen <NUM> to be displayed, as seen in <FIG>.

<FIG> shows the screen <NUM>. The screen <NUM> is similar to the screen <NUM>, but includes a pop-up box <NUM>. In some cases, apart from the pop-up box <NUM>, the screen <NUM> is the same as the screen <NUM> but everything excluding the pop-up box <NUM> is grayed out to make it easier for the user to understand that they should be interacting with the pop-up box <NUM>.

It can be seen that the pop-up box <NUM> identifies the hierarchical level (hierarchical level object <NUM>, labeled "Ground Floor") in which the new folders will be placed. The pop-up box <NUM> includes a space <NUM> in which the user can type the name of a new folder. The user has already entered a new folder named "Reception", a new folder named "Server Room", a new folder named "Office Supplies", a new folder named "Healthcare" and a new folder named "Elevator Area". The pop-up box <NUM> will allow a user to keep entering names of new folders to be created under the hierarchical level object <NUM> until the user either selects a CANCEL button <NUM> or selects a CREATE <NUM> FOLDERS button <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the counter within the name of the button <NUM> will vary, depending on how many new folders are being created. It will be appreciated that a similar pop-up box may be displayed in response to the user having selected the ADD NEW FOLDER button <NUM> or the corresponding option within the pop-up menu <NUM>, but would only be adding a single new folder. Selecting the CREATE <NUM> FOLDERS button <NUM> will cause a screen <NUM> to be displayed, as seen in <FIG>.

It can be seen that the spatial hierarchical model displayed within the workspace <NUM> has grown. The spatial hierarchical model still includes the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Oracle", the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Ground Floor" and the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "First Floor", but also includes additional hierarchical levels objects that are child levels relative to the hierarchical level object <NUM> and are grandchild levels relative to the hierarchical level object <NUM>. These new hierarchical levels include a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Reception", a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Server Room", a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Office Supplies", a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Healthcare" and a hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Elevator Area". It will be appreciated that additional child hierarchical level objects may be created relative to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "First Floor", and that additional hierarchical level object may be added relative to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Oracle" such as "Second Floor", "Third Floor and so on, or perhaps Parking Garage.

<FIG> shows an illustrative screen <NUM> that illustrates assigning an asset to a particular level of the spatial hierarchical model created in <FIG>. In this example, an asset <NUM>, which is included in the asset list <NUM>, is being assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Reception Area". This may be achieved by dragging the asset <NUM> from the asset list <NUM> and dropping the asset <NUM> onto the desired hierarchical level, which in this case is the hierarchical level object <NUM>. A pop-up box <NUM> identifies the asset <NUM>, which serves as a double check that the correct asset has been assigned to the desired hierarchical level object. The asset <NUM> is also highlighted within the asset list <NUM> and the target hierarchical level object <NUM> is also highlighted. It will be appreciated that this process may be repeated until all desired assets have been properly assigned to the appropriate hierarchical level object. As the spatial hierarchical model is built up in this manner, a powerful tool is created that allows a user to capture global information while also being able to drill down to particular hierarchical levels or even particular installed and assigned assets.

<FIG> provides an example in which additional assets have been assigned. The spatial hierarchical model includes the same hierarchical level objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> as shown in previous Figures. An Entrance Camera <NUM> has been assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Reception". A Controller <NUM> and a Camera <NUM> have been assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Server Room". A Camera <NUM> has been assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Office Supplies". A Reader <NUM> and a Camera <NUM> have been assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Healthcare". A Camera <NUM> has been assigned to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Elevator Area".

Once a spatial hierarchical model has been created and put into use, a user may have a desire to search within the spatial hierarchical model. Searches and/or filtering can be performed using the names or portions of names of the hierarchical level objects, for example. As an example, perhaps a user wants to see the assets assigned to every "Reception" area in the company, spread over multiple buildings in multiple geographic regions. The user could search and/or filter search results for "reception" to obtain this information. Searches and/or filtering may be performed using the names or portions of names of the assets that are assigned to the various hierarchical level objects. For example, a user could decide they want to see the location of every door access device in the building. They could search for "door access" or "card reader" or something similar, for example.

Another way that the user can search and/or filter search results is to use what can be referred to as tags. With reference to the <FIG>, it can be seen that each displayed hierarchical level object <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> includes an "Add Tags" icon as part of the displayed hierarchical level object. With particular reference to <FIG>, it can be seen that the Camera <NUM>, which is under the hierarchical level object <NUM>, includes a tag <NUM> that reads "Elevator". This provides a user an easy way to find all assets that are associated with an elevator, for example. In <FIG>, it can be seen that the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Ground Floor" includes an Add Tags icon <NUM>. Actually, each of the displayed hierarchical level objects and assigned assets include an Add Tags icon <NUM>, although for simplicity each Add Tags icon <NUM> is not labeled. Selecting one of the "Add Tags" icon <NUM> may cause a screen <NUM> to be displayed, as seen in <FIG>.

<FIG> provides a screen <NUM> that is similar to the screen <NUM>, but includes a pop-up box <NUM> that can be used to add a tag. A tag can be added that has already been used, or a tag can be newly created. The pop-up box <NUM> includes a box <NUM> that allows the user to enter the name of a tag they wish to assign to the particular hierarchical level object or assigned asset. The pop-up box <NUM> includes a listing <NUM> of recently used tags, which allows the user to easily select one of those tags, rather than having to retype the name into the box <NUM>. The pop-up box <NUM> also includes a SAVE AND EXIT button <NUM>, which when selected causes the new tag and its association with a hierarchical level object or an assigned asset. It will be appreciated that the pop-box <NUM> demonstrates creation and assignment of the tag <NUM> that reads "Elevator" in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a screen shot providing a screen <NUM> that shows the spatial hierarchy model created in <FIG> displayed in a tabular format. The screen <NUM> shows a portion of a spreadsheet that may be displayable using various software such as but not limited to Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, Google Sheets, Quip, EtherCalc, Zoho Sheets, LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice Calc, Smartsheet and Airtable, among others. <FIG> provides an example displayed using Microsoft Excel, but of course other spreadsheet software or the like may be utilized as desired.

The screen <NUM> shows a number of columns, including a Type column <NUM>, a Name column <NUM>, a Parent column <NUM>, a Device Type column <NUM>, an IP column <NUM>, and a Tag1 column <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the screen <NUM> includes the same information regarding the spatial hierarchy model as does <FIG>, but simply in a different format. Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet has a Type of Folder and a name "Oracle". This corresponds to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Oracle". Row <NUM> has a Type of Folder, a name "Ground Floor and a parent of "Oracle". This corresponds to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "Ground Floor". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet has a Type of Folder, a name "First Floor" and a parent of "Oracle". This corresponds to the hierarchical level object <NUM> labeled "First Floor". Similarly, row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "Reception". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "Server Room". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "Office Supplies". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "Healthcare". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "Elevator Area". Row <NUM> of the spreadsheet corresponds to the hierarchy level object <NUM> labeled "First Floor". It will be appreciated that similar corollaries may be made between the devices shown in <FIG> and those shown for example in <FIG>. As an example, a device <NUM>, with a name "Camera4" corresponds to the device <NUM> shown in <FIG>. It can be seen that the illustrative spreadsheet even includes the tag "Elevator" that was assigned to the device <NUM>.

<FIG> provides a screen <NUM> that shows an alternate way of creating a spatial hierarchy model. Much like the screen <NUM>, the screen <NUM> may be displayed by any preferred spreadsheet software or the like. For this particular example, Microsoft Excel was used. The screen <NUM> includes a column <NUM> labeled "Space ID". This column simply increments by one each row, and provides a numerical identifier for that row and the hierarchical level object or device included in that particular row. A column <NUM> is labeled "Space Name" and provides a space for a name to be entered along with a "\" character that indicates a depth. Use of a single "/" character represents a higher level than use of two "/" characters. Use of three "/" characters represents a lower level than use of two "/" characters. This is merely illustrative, as any particular character may be selected or used to indicate relative depth. A column <NUM> labeled "Space Type" provides a space for a user to enter this information.

In the spatial hierarchy model shown on the screen <NUM>, there are two regions, named "US EAST" and "US WEST", as indicated by these names having a single "/" character prefixing the name. There is a "ATLANTA" site within the US EAST region, and a "HONEYWELL MIDTOWN" building within the "ATLANTA" site. There is also a "NEW JERSEY" site within the "US EAST" region, with a "HONEYWELL NJ OFFICE" building within the "NEW JERSEY" site. Each of the sites has two "/" characters prefixing the site name, and each of the buildings has three "/" characters prefixing the building name. Similarly, the "US WEST" region includes a "SAN FRANCISCO" site with a "HONEYWELL SFD OFFICE" building within the "SAN FRANCISCO" site. The "US WEST" region also includes a "SAN DIEGO" site, but no buildings within the "SAN DIEGO" site have been entered yet.

<FIG> is a screen shot providing a screen <NUM> that provides a healthy building dashboard <NUM>. The dashboard <NUM> includes a hierarchy level indicator <NUM> that informs the user that the dashboard <NUM> is displaying aggregated data from a particular hierarchy level. It will be appreciated that for displaying aggregated data from a particular hierarchy level, this will include data from any and all child and grandchild hierarchal levels relative to that particular hierarchy level. In this particular example, the hierarchy level <NUM> reads "All Spaces". The dashboard <NUM> includes a time frame pull-down menu <NUM>, which allows the user to display information for a desired time frame. The pull-down menu <NUM> may include any desired time frames to select from, such as "PAST <NUM> HOURS", "PAST WEEK", "PAST <NUM> DAYS", "PAST <NUM> DAYS", "PAST YEAR" and the like. In some cases, the pull-down menu <NUM> may instead provide a calendar that the user can select a starting point and an ending point from. The pull-down menu <NUM> may instead be a box in which the user can directly type in either a desired time frame, or specific starting and ending points. As illustrated, the pull-down menu <NUM> reads "LAST <NUM> DAYS". The dashboard <NUM> includes a date indicator <NUM> that provides the actual dates corresponding to the time-frame selected using the pull-down menu <NUM>.

Because the hierarchal level indicator <NUM> reads "All Spaces", the aggregated data that is displayed within the dashboard <NUM> represents, for each particular healthy building criteria, a sum total of incidents relating to that particular healthy building criteria not only for the selected hierarchal level, but also for all child and grandchild hierarchal levels that are under the selected hierarchal level. For the sake of this example, assume that the spatial hierarchy model represented by the dashboard <NUM> is the same as that shown in <FIG>.

The dashboard <NUM> includes a "COMPLIANCE OVERVIEW" section <NUM> that shows, for the selected hierarchal level (as indicated by the hierarchy level indicator <NUM>), an aggregated total for each of the displayed healthy building criteria from the selected hierarchal level and all sub-levels. In this example, the COMPLIANCE OVERVIEW section <NUM> includes a CAPACITY indicator 490a, an INCIDENTS indicator 490b, a NO MASKS indicator 490c and an ELEVATED BODY TEMPERATURE indicator 490d. As indicated, in the last <NUM> days, in the time period "<NUM> Jan <NUM> - <NUM> Jan <NUM>", there have been no incidents with average capacity exceeding capacity limits, there are a total of <NUM> open incidents, there were <NUM> incidents of people not wearing masks and there were <NUM> incidents of people being detected having elevated body temperatures.

The dashboard <NUM> may also display additional detail. For example, the dashboard <NUM> provides a graphical representation <NUM> that indicates that during the selected time period, and for the selected hierarchal level, average occupancy has been <NUM> percent of capacity. In this, capacity may indicate a summation of the actual capacity limits for each of the included facilities, such as but not limited to the capacity limits that fire departments set for particular facilities. Capacity may alternatively indicate a reduced capacity figure, such as a <NUM> percent capacity or a <NUM> percent capacity as directed by infectious disease protocols. For example, many local governments have directed such reduced capacity figures during the COVID19 pandemic. The dashboard <NUM> may also include a graphical representation <NUM>, over time, of actual occupancy values. While there have been several transient periods in which the actual occupancy exceeded a capacity limit, it can be seen that overall, the average occupancy has not. In some cases, the graphical representation <NUM> may use a different color, for example, to indicate when the actual occupancy has exceeded capacity.

In some cases, selecting the hierarchy level indicator <NUM> may cause a screen <NUM> to be displayed, as seen in <FIG>. The screen <NUM> includes the dashboard <NUM>, although a pull-down menu <NUM> provides options for controlling what is displayed on the dashboard <NUM>. The pull-down menu <NUM> includes a FILTER option <NUM> that can be used to filter what is displayed. The pull-down menu <NUM> includes a SEARCH option <NUM> that can be used to direct a search. The pull-down menu <NUM> also includes a spatial hierarchal model indicator <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the spatial hierarchal model indicator <NUM> will typically be much larger than what is shown, and thus the spatial hierarchy model indicator <NUM> may include scroll-bars (not shown) that allow a user to move vertically within the spatial hierarchy model indicator <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the spatial hierarchy model indicator <NUM> matches that shown in <FIG>. As shown, the spatial hierarchy model indicator <NUM> also includes an indicator <NUM> displayed opposite the ATLANTA site and an indicator <NUM> that is displayed opposite the SAN FRANCISCO site. These indicators <NUM>, <NUM>, if displayed, may include a number displayed within the indicator <NUM>, <NUM> that informs the user that these particular hierarchal levels may have a number of problems needing attention.

As seen, all of the boxes are checked, meaning that the aggregated data displayed within the dashboard <NUM> includes all data from the US EAST region and the US WEST region. The US EAST region includes the ATLANTA site, which itself includes the "Honeywell Midtown" building, and the NEW JERSEY site, which itself includes the "Honeywell NJ Office" building. The US WEST region includes the SAN FRANCISCO site, which itself includes the "Honeywell SF Office" building, and the SAN DIEGO site which does not yet have any buildings indicated.

If for example, the US EAST box was checked (instead of checking the "Select All" box), the ATLANTA site and the "Honeywell Midtown" buildings would also be checked as a matter of course. The aggregated data displayed on the dashboard <NUM> would only include data aggregated from each of the ATLANTA site and the "Honeywell Midtown" building. It will be appreciated that the ATLANTA site likely includes a plurality of buildings, but in this example only one building has been entered thus far. To continue the example, an occupancy sensor within the "Honeywell Midtown" building may provide a signal indicating that a particular room to which that occupancy sensor has been installed and assigned. That signal would indicate a potential problem for that particular room in the "Honeywell Midtown" building. That signal would also indicate a potential problem for the particular floor including that particular room, for example. The building may be further divided into areas or portions, and that signal would also indicate a problem within any area or portion that includes the particular room to which the particular sensor is assigned. That signal would also indicate a problem for the ATLANTA site and the US EAST region.

Occupancy data that might be displayed on the dashboard <NUM> if the US EAST box was checked would include, for the "Honeywell Midtown" building, an aggregation of signals from every occupancy sensor within the "Honeywell Midtown" building. Continuing the example, occupancy data that might be displayed on the dashboard <NUM> for the ATLANTA site would include the occupancy data from the "Honeywell Midtown" building as well as for any other buildings (not shown) that are within the ATLANTA site. Occupancy data that might be displayed on the dashboard <NUM> for the US EAST region would include the aggregated occupancy data for the ATLANTA site, the NEW JERSEY site and any other sites (not yet entered) that are assigned within the US EAST region.

Claim 1:
A method of building a spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>) of a plurality of building control assets (<NUM>), the spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>) configured to provide spatial context of the plurality of building control assets (<NUM>) in a building to an operator when the operator is monitoring and/or controlling the plurality of building control assets (<NUM>) of the building, the method comprising:
accepting user input via one or more screens to add and name each of one or more first level spaces of the building at a first level of the spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>) to build the spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>);
accepting user input via one or more screens to select a selected one of the first level spaces of the spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>) and add and name each of one or more child level spaces of the building that are spatially part of the selected first level space (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the building at a second level of the spatial hierarchical model (<NUM>) to continue to build the spatial hierarchical model;
concurrently displaying together:
a graphical representation (<NUM>, <NUM>) of at least part of the spatial hierarchical model as the spatial hierarchical model is being built; and
a listing (<NUM>) of at least some of the plurality of building control assets (<NUM>) that are available for the user to add to the spatial hierarchical model; and
accepting user input to assign one or more selected building control assets (<NUM>) from the displayed listing (<NUM>) of at least some of the plurality of building control assets (<NUM>) to a selected child level space (<NUM>, <NUM>) within the spatial hierarchical model that is concurrently displayed with the one or more selected building control assets (<NUM>).