The increasingly internetworked nature of physical entities and industrial assets is the result of deeper penetration of Internet of Things technologies (IoT) in production environments. Such technologies empower physical product and asset entities to become not only production but also information actors. The physical IoT entities may thus exhibit various levels of intelligence, supported by internet-working, web-based programming and advanced data processing capabilities. At the lower information processing level of physical assets, IoT-enabled entities are now highly integrated with the physical products and assets, forming what is often termed as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). They contribute to the upgrade of conventional assets to intelligent ones. For an asset to exhibit intelligent behaviour mere data exchange does not suffice and some form of self-awareness is needed. This paper presents the development of a methodology for embedding event detection to support self-awareness, leading to safer asset operation. Based on wireless sensors, as well as on embedded intelligence, an awareness-enabled asset is a dual entity, consisting of its physical, as well as well its cyber counterpart. This CPS entity is not only capable of performing its intended physical function as part of a production process, but is also capable of handling sensorial monitoring information, process it and perform detection in sensor nodes. The methodology is demonstrated in a lifts monitoring piloting case.
