Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 24-1 - 31

◗◗ standards for new types of calibrations; and
According to the previous considerations, the aim of this
◗◗ edge or cloud computing [8].
paper is to analyze the main areas of interest throughout the
The second approach is more interested in the security, measurement process, from the data acquisition to the data storinaccessibility of data, and the transparent traceability of ac- ing. Some useful issues are provided to interpret in a coherent
cesses and operations on data, and it has been preliminary and refined way the challenges proposed by the data lifecycle,
developed to realize compliance of the measurement systems on the whole. The first section of the paper is dedicated to " metwith the requirements of legal metrology [9], [10].
rological aspects, " according to the classical point of view, but
All of these contributions are valuable, nevertheless more declined considering the needs of the new context. Synchroand more in modern applications measurement topics require nizing digital networks of sensors, digital calibration, in-line
to be treated as a unique and coherent process, managed in and on-line calibration and the problem of cost of these actions
a skilled and conscious way. In this way, the whole lifecycle will be deepened. Data processing, according to the need for
of data has to be considered with reference to both the single big data processing, are discussed for the purpose of posing the
steps and/or applications and having also in mind the inter- problem and the outlining requirements for other issues.
relationships among the following activities, starting from the
Some discussion on the present status of the standards is
design of the sensor installation to the measurement proce- also given. The way to propose this approach of digitalizadure, up to the data synthesis for decision-making.
tion is presented, and the subsequent section is devoted to the
Therefore, interpretation of traditional metrological con- presentation of concepts and solutions able to make safe data,
cepts in an updated way, could be the tool to use both new which could be valid at the acquisition stage. The opportunitechnical solutions and new organization models in an ef- ties given by Blockchain technology are presented; the paper
fective way, taking advantage of the tight connection among describes how to apply this software environment to the applidevices and production process.
cations of measurement data security in different situations,
Of course, interpreting the measurement process effec- like fog and cloud layers or throughout the supply chain. Fitively in the Industry 4.0 scenario requires a multidisciplinary nally, the paper proposes a simple architecture, able to give
approach, including measuring concepts, but also hardware, an example of tools and actions useful for the above requiresoftware and information technology knowledge and solu- ments, and conclusions end the paper, together with ideas for
tions. Based on this multidisciplinary knowledge, improving future work.
the skills of people involved in measurement
processes with respect
to these topics is a mandatory aspect, being a
fundamental contribution to achieve efficacious
solutions.
F i n a l l y, e c o n o m i c
considerations are of
concern with reference
to hardware, software
and services, due to the
need to implement a harmonic solution, which
could be considered int e re s t i n g i n m u l t i p l e
applications. Implementing metrological services
in an economic way is not
a trivial achievement, if
the typical costs of a measurement management
system are considered,
and even more so in the
actual organization. Fig.
1 gives a graphical summary of the workflow to
build reliable information
Fig. 1. Flow diagram to build reliable information from measurement data.
from measurement data.
February 2021

IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 31

Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 24-1

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