Improved capabilities are described for a data collection system in an industrial environment comprising a data collector communicatively coupled to a plurality of input channels; a data storage structured to store a plurality of collector routes and collected data that correspond to the plurality of input channels, wherein the plurality of collector routes each comprise a different data collection routine; a data acquisition circuit structured to interpret a plurality of detection values from the collected data, each of the plurality of detection values corresponding to at least one of the plurality of input channels; a data analysis circuit structured to analyze the collected data from the plurality of input channels; and a cognitive input selection facility for optimization of an input selection configuration for a collector route of the data collector, wherein the input selection configuration is based on a learning feedback from a learning feedback facility.