Automation Object Test Scripts for Holistic IDE Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in integrated design, programming, and testing due to the need for separate configuration tools and manual testing, which leads to inefficiencies and inadequate validation of control code.
Innovation Solution
An integrated development environment (IDE) is provided that supports integrated, multi-discipline programming and testing across control, visualization, and other aspects of industrial automation systems, using automation objects with associated test scripts to verify operation holistically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate configuration tools are used for design, programming, and testing, then each tool can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall system complexity increases and integration efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate configuration tools for design, programming, and testing into a single integrated development environment (IDE). This unified IDE provides a common platform that handles all phases of automation system development, reducing the number of separate tools needed while maintaining specialized functionality for each phase through integrated test scripts and automated validation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The IDE is designed as a universal platform that performs multiple functions across different development phases. It can render various IDE interfaces for different disciplines (control, visualization), generate system project data, and execute test scripts, making a single tool capable of replacing multiple specialized tools while maintaining discipline-specific capabilities.
2Productivity
If manual testing is used for validation, then flexibility in testing approaches is maintained, but testing efficiency decreases and validation coverage is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements test scripts that are associated with automation objects during the design and programming phases, before actual deployment. This preliminary creation and association of test scripts allows for automated execution that validates control code comprehensively, ensuring both efficiency and adequate coverage by performing validation activities in advance rather than relying on manual post-deployment testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The IDE enables automated self-validation through integrated test scripts that automatically execute and validate control code without requiring extensive manual intervention. The system performs self-testing and self-validation, improving both productivity through automation and reliability through comprehensive coverage, as the automated scripts systematically validate all aspects of the control logic.
3Productivity
If integrated development environment is implemented, then design and programming efficiency improves, but the initial system complexity and development effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated IDE is structured with distinct functional components for different disciplines (control IDE interface, visualization IDE interface) and different phases (design, programming, testing). This segmentation allows the complex integrated system to be organized into manageable modules, reducing the perceived complexity while maintaining integration benefits. Each segment handles specific tasks, and they work together through a unified architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports a testing framework that verifies operation of all aspects of the project (e.g., controller code, HMI screens or other visualizations, panel layouts, wiring schedules, etc.). As part of this testing framework, automation objects supported by the industrial IDE include associated test scripts designed to execute one or more test scenarios appropriate to the type of automation object or project being tested. Test scripts can also be associated with portions of the system project. The testing platform applies testing to the automation project as a whole in a holistic manner rather than to specific portions of a control program, verifying linkages across design platforms (e.g., control code, visualization, panel layouts, wiring, piping, etc.) that may otherwise not be tested.