Agent Prioritization in Self-Organizing Process Plant Automation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional process plant automation requires significant engineering efforts for changes in plant configuration, limited flexibility, and hardware/software modifications, especially when sensors or actuators are added or removed, and current systems lack autonomy in prioritizing agent requests.
Innovation Solution
An agent-based process automation system where field components act as self-organizing agents, utilizing a prioritization mechanism based on a topological representation to automatically assign requests to responsible agents, minimizing total penalty value through a penalty matrix.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional centralized automation software is used, then automation control can be achieved, but significant engineering efforts are required when plant configuration changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized automation system into multiple autonomous agents distributed across field components. Each agent independently manages its own control logic and can autonomously adapt to configuration changes, eliminating the need for system-wide re-engineering when plant topology changes occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic agent-based control where agents can be dynamically added, removed, or modified based on real-time plant configuration changes. The system automatically reconfigures control assignments through penalty matrix recalculation, enabling adaptive response without manual engineering intervention.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual engineering of automation software is performed, then customized control can be achieved, but significant engineering efforts are required both initially and for any changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the automation system to self-configure and self-adapt through autonomous agents that automatically adjust control assignments when plant configuration changes occur. The penalty matrix mechanism allows the system to autonomously optimize control distribution without requiring manual engineering time for reconfiguration.
3Ease of operation
If centralized automation servers are used, then orchestration control can be achieved, but hardware and software engineering modifications are required for flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces communication pathways as intermediaries between distributed agents, enabling coordinated control without centralized orchestration. Agents exchange control requests and responses through defined communication paths, maintaining system-wide coordination while allowing individual agents to operate autonomously and adapt to changes.
4Adaptability or versatility
If plant topology changes occur, then plant flexibility can be improved, but the current engineering becomes invalid requiring re-engineering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic validation where the penalty matrix is automatically recalculated based on current plant topology. This ensures engineering validity is continuously maintained as the plant configuration changes, with agents automatically adapting their control assignments to reflect the current valid engineering state.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for automating a process plant includes configuring field components of the process plant as a swarm of self-organizing agents where each agent communicates with adjacently physically connected agents. The method includes reacting on requests generated by requesting agents by responsible agents assigned based on a prioritization mechanism established using a topological representation of the process plant. The prioritization mechanism is established by assigning a penalty value to each request and forwarding the request via one or more paths using the topological representation by incrementing the penalty value at an agent that forwards or reacts on the request depending on the type of request and/or agent. Thereby, a penalty matrix is created indicating how much penalty would be incurred if a particular request is reacted on by a given responsible agent. The penalty matrix is used to assign requests to responsible agents to minimize a total penalty value.