Cloud Plant Structure Mapping From Asset Tag Parsing

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing methods for transferring data from field devices to cloud-based service platforms result in unstructured and inaccurate digital representations, requiring significant manual effort to align the data with the actual plant layout, making it difficult for users to identify relevant assets.

Innovation Solution

A method that involves reading tag information from assets using edge devices, parsing this information using logic to extract asset and measuring point names, and creating a structural plan on a cloud-based service platform, which automatically organizes the data to reflect the plant's hierarchical structure.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If data is transferred from field devices to cloud-based service platforms using existing methods, then data transmission is achieved, but the digital representation becomes unstructured and inaccurate, requiring significant manual effort to align data with actual plant layout

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveautomatic data structuringVSAvoidmanual effort for data alignment
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically structures asset data by reading tag information directly from assets, parsing it to extract hierarchical structure, and creating a structural plan without requiring manual intervention. The cloud-based service platform performs self-service data organization by automatically correlating assets with measuring points based on parsed tag information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Tag information containing hierarchical structure is read and parsed in advance before data transmission to the cloud platform. The structural plan is created preliminarily based on this parsed information, so that when data arrives at the cloud platform, it is already organized and ready for efficient storage and retrieval.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If manual processes are used to structure asset data in the cloud, then data can be organized to reflect plant layout, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata structure accuracyVSAvoiddata structuring speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Manual mechanical processes for data structuring are replaced with automated electronic systems. The cloud-based service platform uses software applications to automatically read, parse, and structure asset data based on tag information, eliminating manual data entry and organization while ensuring high accuracy through systematic parsing logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The actual plant structure is copied into the digital representation by extracting hierarchical information from asset tag names. The parsing logic copies the real-world hierarchical relationships (plant → area → measuring point → asset) directly from the tag information into the cloud-based structural plan, ensuring accuracy without manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If tag information is not parsed and structured, then data transmission is simple and fast, but users cannot efficiently identify relevant assets or retrieve data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata retrieval efficiencyVSAvoiddata processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Tag information is segmented into distinct hierarchical components through parsing. The system divides the tag name string into separate elements representing different levels of the hierarchy (plant, area, measuring point, asset), allowing structured storage and efficient retrieval by any level of the hierarchy without requiring complex search operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A structural plan acts as an intermediary between the raw asset data and the users needing to access it. This intermediate structure, created by parsing tag information, enables efficient data retrieval and asset identification without requiring users to directly process complex raw data or implement complex search algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4264381B1Method for generating a digital representation of a process automation system on a cloud-based service platform
Publication Date: 2026.04.01 ENDRESS HAUSER PROCESS SOLUTIONS AG
  • EP4264381B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4264381B1 patent drawing

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for generating a digital representation of a process automation system (A) on a cloud-based service platform (SP). The system (A) has a plurality of measurement points (MS1, MS2) and assets (AS1, AS2, AS3, AS4, AS5), in particular field devices, wherein one or more assets (AS1, …, AS5) are integrated in each of the measurement points (MS1, MS2). The method has the steps of: - reading TAG information (TAG) from each of the assets (AS1, …, AS5) by means of an edge device (ED), said TAG information (TAG) being provided in a character chain data type, in particular a string data type, and representing the hierarchical structure of the respective asset (AS1,..., AS5) in the system (A); - transmitting the TAG information (TAG) from the edge device (ED) to the cloud-based service platform (SP); - parsing all of the TAG information (TAG) using an application ran on the cloud-based service platform (SP), wherein a logic is used for the parsing process, and at least the name of the asset (AS1,..., AS5) and the name of the measurement point (MS1, MS2) in which the respective asset is integrated are extracted from the TAG information (TAG) in each case using the logic; and - generating a structure plan (PL) of the system (A) using the application, said structure plan (PL) exhibiting all of the system (A) measurement points (MS1, MS2) extracted from the TAG information (TAG) together with all of the assets (AS1,..., AS5) which are assigned to the measurement points (MS1, MS2) and are extracted from the TAG information (TAG), in particular in the form of a tree structure.