Patent ID: 8850000

Claim:
A system for collecting and communicating data associated with at least one of a plurality of machines, the system comprising: at least one sensor associated with at least one of the plurality of machines, the at least one sensor being configured to monitor an operational condition of the at least one machine and provide signals indicative of the operational condition; at least one local data system associated with the at least one machine, the at least one local data system including a processor and being configured to: receive signals from the at least one sensor; detect an event affecting the at least one machine based on the signals received from the at least one sensor; and communicate data relevant to the detected event to a location remote from the at least one machine; and a central data system including a processor and configured to receive the data relevant to the detected event, and communicate with other machines of the plurality of machines such that the other machines communicate data relevant to the detected event to the central data system, wherein the central data system is further configured to: identify a plurality of machines that share a characteristic with the at least one machine; communicate the identity of the relevant data to the local data systems associated with the plurality of machines; and receive the relevant data from each of the local data systems associated with the plurality of machines.