User community generated analytics and marketplace data for modular systems

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards providing analytics and marketplace data to members of a user community. In some embodiments, the analytics and marketplace data are generated based on machine data provided by the members. The analytics and marketplace data may enable automatically identifying, configuring, monitoring, controlling, managing, and/or maintaining a machine or a collection/system of machine components. The analytics may include, but are not limited to analytics related to machine component reliability, machine maintenance conditions, machine prohibited conditions, machine usages, machine alert conditions, and the like. The marketplace data may include information relating to the maintenance of the machine, replacement components or alternative components for the machine, and the like for various machines. Marketplace data may include an aggregation of electronic (e)-commerce data. The marketplace data may be provided is based on data aggregated from various sources, including vendors, suppliers, buyers, sellers, online auctioneers, or other members of the user community.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is: 
     
         1 . A method for managing a machine, comprising:
 communicating, to a collection computer, component identification data separately stored in each of a plurality of component identification (ID) Tags that correspond to one or more components for the machine, wherein the component identification data includes a component type;   automatically determining a machine type of the machine based on a comparison of the one or more component types and one or more previously provided combinations of component types that correspond to one or more previously determined machine types;   recommending one or more candidate peers to include in a social network of a user based on one or more of the component types or the machine type, wherein the one or more candidate peers are included in a user community;   providing an analytics template to the user, wherein the analytics template is populated with analytics for the machine type based on machine data provided by the user community; and   providing a marketplace template to the user, wherein the marketplace template is populated with marketplace data for the machine type based on the machine data provided by the user community.