At the Ignition Community Conference (ICC), we’re always exploring ways to elevate both the technology and the community behind Ignition to new heights. That’s why at ICC 2023, we’re doing something completely new — our first-ever Sparkplug Data Dash! I want to tell you about it because, honestly, it's a pretty ambitious idea and we’re going to need your help to pull it off!
Basically, we want to set up an Ignition Cloud Edition Perspective dashboard that displays data being published to a cloud MQTT server by community-built data models at the edge from around the world. The dashboard will present a map and listing of all contributors' data models. Plus, it will feature community-built Perspective templates that provide visualization of the published data models. And, to make it even cooler, the community-built UDTs and Perspective templates will be publicly available on the Ignition Exchange, thereby making this year’s Exchange Challenge even more competitive.
That is where you come in! We invite anyone in the Ignition community to participate, whether you’re an end-user, integrator, vendor, or even a home-automation enthusiast using Ignition Maker Edition. All we ask is that you build one data model (UDT) and one corresponding Perspective template that can represent anything from a machine to a sensor to an oil well or even a thermostat. You can leverage Ignition or Ignition Edge to build and publish the UDT or a smart sensor that supports MQTT Sparkplug templates natively. If you are feeling adventurous, feel free to build multiple data models and templates.
Not to toot our own horn, but we think this is an amazing (and fun) way to show off the power of Ignition and MQTT Sparkplug through real data (with context) and practical examples of edge-to-cloud solutions — and to engage as members of the Ignition community by building something really cool together. With your help, we can showcase data and a UNS (unified namespace) coming in from hundreds or thousands of edge devices around the world, all automatically discovered on a stunning cloud dashboard. Plus, the entire community can benefit from free Ignition Exchange resources to help kickstart your next project.
How to Participate
So, how do you participate? Just complete these five easy steps:
1. Please fill out and submit this form. We just need some basic information about you and how you’d like to participate.
2. After you submit the form, we at IA will send you an email containing the credentials for the MQTT server so you can connect and publish data, as well as the instructions on how to get started and how to submit your Perspective template and data model configuration instructions (such as history or alarms required for your template) to us.
3. Build the UDT and the template according to the requirements in the Data Dash project document (see the Requirements section).
4. Publish the data to the broker, test it locally (using Ignition and the MQTT Engine Module), then send us the template along with any instructions for configuring the data model on the cloud Ignition server. That way we can test out your template on the real system prior to the event.
5. Upload your template to the Ignition Exchange prior to the event and send us the link to your resource. That way we can link your template in the cloud dashboard to your Ignition Exchange resource for recognition of your amazing work!
That’s it!
Get Socks and Get Noticed
The Sparkplug Data Dash is truly a community project so you’ll get recognition for what you build, both in the Ignition Cloud Edition dashboard and in your account on the Ignition Exchange. As an added bonus, when you upload your template to the Ignition Exchange you’ll become eligible for the Exchange Challenge, which not only hooks you up with a pair of exclusive Exchange socks but also a chance for your resource to be selected and featured in the 2023 Build-a-Thon and on the Exchange website.
I hope that you’ll participate and that this will be the first of many ICC community projects. Just click here to apply, or here for the project document with technical details. If you have questions, you can email me at travis@inductiveautomation.com.
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Community Dashboards Edge Computing ICC Ignition Cloud Edition Ignition Exchange MQTT Perspective Sparkplug UDTs Unified Namespace