Method and engineering system for generating a user interface for an industrial automation arrangement

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an engineering system for generating a user interface for an operating and observation device of an industrial automation arrangement. In this case, possible graphical objects for the user interface (Screen) are identified using generative grammar on the basis of meta-information relating to the data objects, for example identifiers (tags) of the data objects, a number of possible user interfaces (Screen) are then generated from the identified graphical objects, the state variables of the graphical objects are subsequently assigned to the data objects for many or all of the generated user interfaces (Screen), a number is then selected from the user interfaces (Screen) generated in the third step, wherein the selection is made on the basis of the set and / or quality of overall assignments of the particular user interface (Screen), wherein a degree of correspondence between the respective state variables and the assigned data object is assessed for each assignment of a graphical object to a data object, and the previously selected user interfaces (Screen) are finally proposed or provided for use. The proposed use of generative grammar to define possible user interfaces in the engineering systems for operating and observation devices leads to a high degree of flexibility and to considerable unburdening of the persons entrusted with generating the user interfaces.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Method and engineering system for generating a user interface for an industrial automation arrangement

[0003] The invention relates to a method for generating a user interface for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation arrangement according to the preamble of patent claim 1, and to an engineering system for generating a user interface for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation arrangement according to the preamble of patent claim 8.

[0004] Industrial automation systems are typically controlled by operating and monitoring devices with graphical user interfaces, so-called screens. Typical operating and monitoring devices include HMI devices or HMI panels (HMI = Human Machine Interface), but SCADA systems (SCADA Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition) and a variety of other similar devices can also be used for operating and monitoring.What all of these devices have in common is that they have one or a number of different user interfaces or screen pages, so-called screens, whereby on each screen and thus on each user interface a number of elements of the industrial automation arrangement are represented by means of graphic objects, whereby the graphic objects can, for example, represent a state of the respective element (for example a machine, a process element or the like) or can represent a number of operating elements for influencing the respective element, for example a switch or control knob.

[0005] The elements of an industrial automation system are usually controlled by an industrial controller, for example a programmable logic controller (PLC) or the like, whereby the industrial controller is connected to sensors and actuators of the respective elements. Within the industrial controller, the sensors and actuators of the elements are mapped to data objects which can be used in the control program in the manner of a variable or other data structure. In the operating and monitoring devices, the graphical objects each have state variables, whereby, for example, the value of a state variable can be displayed using a graphical component of the respective graphical object, or whereby a graphically displayed operating element, for example a switch, button, slider or the like, affects the data value of a corresponding state variable of the graphical object.

[0006] The state variables of the graphical objects are linked directly or indirectly to the data objects of the elements in the industrial controls, so that an interaction between the graphical objects, the data objects and thus the elements of the industrial automation arrangement is possible.

[0007] The publication WO 2021 / 104608 Al - Hanniman et al. "METHOD FOR GENERATING AN ENGINEERING PROPOSAL FOR A DEVICE OR SYSTEM" discloses the creation of proposals in the engineering of automation systems using multigraphs.

[0008] The publication US 2021 / 397171 Al - Sayyarrodsari et al. "INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION HMI PROGRAM FILE GENERATION FROM COMPUTER-AIDED DES IGN" creates graphical representations for HMI systems from digital design drawings.

[0009] The patent specification US 11 513 508 B2 - Sun et al . "METHOD, COMPONENT , AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR CREATING HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE" proposes automatically generating a user interface for a system by automatically combining HMI resources of individual components of the system to form the user interface . A SCADA system or other operating and monitoring device is usually developed according to the respective machines or lines that it monitors and controls . The engineer is usually given an extensive list ("tag list") of variables, also called data points or tags, on the basis of which visualizations and graphical user interfaces (screens) are to be created.

[0010] In the following, all variables, addresses and structures of an industrial controller (PLC) or other device that is to be linked to an HMI or SCADA system are referred to as "tags". Typically, a tag has a name or a name structure, and the name or the components of a mostly hierarchical name structure are derived from a meaning or function. A tag is therefore a name that is assigned to an address or data structure of a device or PLC or similar. It is also called a "variable" or "symbol", depending on the manufacturer of the device / PLC.

[0011] Due to a lack of documentation and standards, the creation (projecting) of screens is often a laborious task.

[0012] Today, screens are designed manually in a graphical editor. This works well for individual screens, but is difficult to scale to larger systems. The work is often repetitive, as the design process often starts from a blank screen. When reuse occurs, it is often done in the form of copy and paste, which is difficult to maintain and manage over time.

[0013] It is therefore an object of the present invention to simplify and at least partially automate the creation of graphical user interfaces for industrial automation systems. This object is achieved by a method according to claim 1 and by a system according to claim 8.

[0014] A method is proposed for generating a user interface for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation system, wherein graphical objects for operating and / or monitoring elements of the automation system are placed on the user interface, and wherein data objects of at least one industrial controller assigned to the elements are linked to the state variables of the graphical objects. In a first step, using a generative grammar, possible graphical objects for the user interface are identified based on meta-information about the data objects, in particular based on identifiers of the data objects. In a second step, a number of possible user interfaces are generated from the identified graphical objects.In a third step, for many or all of the generated user interfaces, an assignment of the state variables of the graphical objects to the data objects is made. In a fourth step, a number of the user interfaces generated in the third step are selected, whereby the selection is made based on the quantity and / or quality of the total assignments of the respective user interface. For each assignment of a graphical object to a data object, a degree of correspondence of the respective state variables to the assigned data object is assessed.and in a fifth step, the user interfaces selected in the fourth step are proposed or provided for use. The proposed use of a generative grammar for defining possible user interfaces in the engineering systems for operating and monitoring devices leads to a high degree of flexibility and a significant reduction in the workload for the people entrusted with generating the user interfaces. The task is also solved by an engineering system for generating a user interface for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation arrangement, wherein the engineering system is set up to retrieve data objects from a programming system for industrial controls, wherein the engineering system is used to identify possible graphical objects for the user interface based on meta information about the data objects,in particular based on identifiers of the data objects, using a generative grammar, wherein the engineering system is configured to assign the state variables of the graphical objects to the data objects for many or all of the generated user interfaces, that the engineering system is configured to select a number from the user interfaces generated in the third step, wherein it is provided that the selection is made based on the quantity and / or quality of the total assignments of the respective user interface, wherein it is further provided that for each assignment of a graphical object to a data object, a degree of correspondence of the respective state variables to the assigned data object is evaluated,and wherein the engineering system is configured to propose or use the selected user interfaces. This engineering system can achieve the benefits already discussed with reference to the method.

[0015] Advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention are specified in the dependent patent claims. The features described therein and their advantages also apply mutatis mutandis to the arrangement according to the invention. The advantageous embodiments can be used both individually and in appropriate combinations.

[0016] Advantageously, the rules of the generative grammar are not, or not exclusively, generated manually, but rather derived from user interfaces of existing automation systems, particularly by means of a learning system, whereby the existing assignments of graphical objects and their state variables to the existing elements are processed into respective rules or rule sets of the grammar. The generative grammar is preferably stored in a formal description language or defined with a number of mutually referencing objects of a markup language. This enables universal use of the grammar, even across manufacturers.

[0017] A better assignment of data objects to state variables is possible if the possible state variables in the generative grammar are defined by expressions with placeholders for the assignment of state variables to data objects, with the data objects being mapped to these expressions with placeholders. Similarly, when identifying the possible graphical objects for searching the metadata, "fuzzy" identifiers of the generative grammar can be used, or the search can be based not only on matches but also on similarities.

[0018] Especially with frequent use, better results can be achieved if in the third step the assignments are made using a neural network trained on this and the neural network outputs a degree of assignment for use in the fourth step for each assignment made.

[0019] In principle, an evaluation factor can be provided for some or each of the graphical objects or their state variables, so that during the automatic execution of the procedure, a focus can be placed on important elements and more suitable user interfaces (screens) can be selected and suggested for use.

[0020] In cases where several different graphical objects are found for a data object in the first step, it is advantageous to use only one of the found graphical objects for the respective data object in the second step on different generated user interfaces. This creates various alternative screens for later selection.

[0021] An exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. It also serves to explain an arrangement according to the invention.

[0022] Showing:

[0023] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the process, and

[0024] Figure 2 shows a simplified example of a rule of generative grammar.

[0025] The method proposed here for the automatic generation of user interfaces (hereinafter also called screens) is based on three mechanisms:

[0026] 1. User interface or screen generation based on a grammar,

[0027] 2. A matching algorithm that connects (matches) variables in the grammar with tags, i.e. identifiers of data objects from a control level, from a tag list, and

[0028] 3. A rating mechanism to select the screen (user interface, screen) that best fits the tag list.

[0029] The basic process is outlined in Figure 1. The language of possible user interfaces / screens is searched using the grammar rules. If a rule generates a variable that is not yet assigned to a data object or its identifier (tag), the comparison mechanism attempts to match it with a tag in the tag list. When a valid screen is reached - no more rules apply - the screen constructed in this way is evaluated and its score recorded. The evaluation can be based on the degree of agreement between the tags, which should include meaningful abbreviations, and the names of the graphical objects found in the grammar or their state variables. Evaluation factors can also be specified for rules or objects in the grammar.

[0030] This continues until a certain number of graphic objects or screens to be displayed have been generated or other termination criteria are met.

[0031] Finally, the screen or a set of screens with the highest score is presented to an engineer and thus suggested. The actual arrangement, i.e., the layout, of the graphical objects can be done automatically and is not crucial for the selection process.

[0032] Alternatively, you can ask a technician for feedback during the search or - as described if there is more than one suggestion - choose from a list of the best-rated screens.

[0033] The principle of generative grammar is known in many examples, see for example https : / / de . wikipedia . org / wiki / Generative_Grammatik .

[0034] The grammar describes the "language" of possible HMI systems and the underlying automation arrangements.

[0035] An example :

[0036] Screen : = PickerLines | ProductionLines | Tanks

[0037] Picker : = DeltaPicker | Gantry | RobotArm This means that a user interface / screen consists of either picker lines (robots for storage systems), production lines, or tanks. Specifications can be made at any level. A picker can be either a delta picker (parallel arm robot), a gantry (coordinate robot), or a robot arm.

[0038] Tanks := Tank

[0039] Tanks := Tank | Tanks

[0040] Tanks therefore consist of at least one up to any number of tanks.

[0041] Tank := tank_picture fill_indicator ( $ fill_percentage )

[0042] A tank or the graphical object to be created for it consists of a background image of a tank and a fill indicator that is parameterized with the state variable $f ill_percentage.

[0043] The example presented here is just one way to define the grammar. It could also be defined using templates written in a markup language (e.g., XML) that refer to each other.

[0044] As can be seen from the grammar description, the generated screens or the graphical objects they contain contain state variables (variables for short). These must be bound to tags, i.e., identifiers for data objects of the elements of the industrial automation arrangement. In the above example, this is a register or variable of an industrial controller that stores the value of a fill level sensor. This variable could be named tank_fill3. Various methods can be used to match tags with the unbound variables. One option is regular expressions that describe which tags could match a variable.

[0045] Example :

[0046] $ fill_percentage -> ( [Tt ] ank) ?\d? . ? ( [Ffill] ) -*

[0047] This means that the following tags could match $f ill_percentage:

[0048] Tanklfill, Fill_indicator , tank_fill3

[0049] In addition to regular expressions, other mechanisms can also be used, for example classifiers based on neural networks or SVMs.

[0050] Figure 2 shows another simplified example of a generative grammar. Here, too, it is assumed that a list of data objects or their identifiers, i.e., a tag list, has been retrieved from a project planning system. Additional information, such as purpose information, is often available and useful as additional metadata.

[0051] In the example shown in Figure 2, the system can determine the industry (chemistry) from the heuristic in line 1 based on the frequency of tags from the tag list, thus establishing a sequence for checking the grammar rules (namely, the rules of the identified industry first). The following three lines define the search patterns for possible state variables. The subsequent lines describe a search pattern or sequence; this can be customized by an engineer.

[0052] Based on a screen or user interface created by the grammar and the tags that match their state variables, the evaluation mechanism ultimately calculates a score. Based on this score, the screen that best matches the given tag list can be selected.

[0053] A basic mechanism would simply count how many tags match variables (state variables) in a given screen. However, more sophisticated mechanisms are also applicable, where matches are not "Boolean," but rather different variables have different degrees of importance or weighting factors, or variables have restrictions that prevent them from being matched with tags that have already been assigned to other variables, for example.

[0054] In particular, the grammar that defines possible screens gives the described approach a high degree of flexibility. Classical approaches rely on a limited number of templates that may not account for the wide variety of industrial processes and machines.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A method for generating a user interface for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation system, wherein graphical objects for operating and / or monitoring elements of the automation system are placed on the user interface (screen), wherein data objects of at least one industrial controller assigned to the elements are linked to state variables of the graphical objects, characterized in that in a first step, using a generative grammar, possible graphical objects for the user interface (screen) are identified based on meta-information about the data objects, in particular based on identifiers (tags) of the data objects, that in a second step, by searching a linguistic description of the user interface with grammar rules, a number of possible user interfaces (screen) are generated from the identified graphical objects,that in a third step, for the generated user interfaces (screens), an assignment of the state variables of the graphical objects to the data objects is made using regular expressions or classifiers, that in a fourth step, a number of the user interfaces (screens) generated in the third step are selected, the selection being made based on the quantity and / or quality of the total assignments of the respective user interface (screens), wherein for each assignment of a graphical object to a data object, a degree of correspondence of the respective state variables to the assigned data object is assessed, and that in a fifth step, the user interfaces (screens) selected in the fourth step are used for, proposed or envisaged.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that before the first step the rules of the generative grammar are derived from user interfaces (screen) of existing automation arrangement, in particular by means of a learning system, wherein the existing assignments of graphic objects and their state variables to the existing elements are processed into respective rules of the grammar. 3 . Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the generative grammar is stored in a formal description language or is defined with a number of objects of a markup language which refer to one another. 4 . Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the third step for the assignment of the state variables to the data objects, the possible state variables in the generative grammar are defined by expressions with placeholders, the data objects being mapped to these expressions with placeholders. 5 . Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the third step the assignments are made by means of a neural network trained thereon and by the neural network for each assignment made a degree of assignment for a Use is output in the fourth step.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an evaluation factor is provided for some or each of the graphical objects or their state variables.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the first step, several different graphical objects are found for a data object, wherein in the second step, on different generated user interfaces (screens), only one of the graphical objects found is used for the data object in question.

8. Engineering system for generating a user interface (screen) for an operating and monitoring device of an industrial automation arrangement, wherein it is provided that graphical objects for operating and / or monitoring elements of the automation arrangement are placed on the user interface (screen), and that data objects of at least one industrial controller assigned to the elements are linked to state variables of the graphical objects, characterized in that the engineering system is set up to identify possible graphical objects for the user interface (screen) based on meta information about the data objects, in particular based on identifiers (tags) of the data objects, using a generative grammar,that the engineering system is set up to generate a number of possible user interfaces (screens) by searching a linguistic description of the user interface with grammar rules from the identified graphical objects, that the engineering system is set up to assign the state variables of the graphical objects to the data objects for the generated user interfaces (screens) using regular expressions or classifiers, that the engineering system is set up to select a number of the user interfaces (screens) generated in the third step, wherein it is provided that the selection is made based on the quantity and / or quality of the total assignments of the respective user interface (screens), wherein it is further provided thatthat for each assignment of a graphic object to a data object, a degree of correspondence of the respective state variables to the assigned data object is evaluated, and that the engineering system is used to propose or applying the selected user interfaces (screen).

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