Cloud Industrial Development Hub for Secure Control Code Reuse
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in efficient development and testing due to complexity and custom nature, leading to long development cycles and cost overruns, as well as difficulties in managing proprietary intellectual property and protecting against cyber-attacks.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based Industrial Development Hub (IDH) provides a platform for easy development and testing with enhanced storage and design tools, facilitating project management, backup, and restore capabilities, while offering real-time design feedback and analytics to optimize control project development.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If industrial automation systems use custom development approaches, then system functionality and adaptability are improved, but development time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring development environments, templates, and standards in the cloud-based platform before actual project development begins. This allows developers to start with pre-established frameworks rather than creating everything from scratch, thus maintaining custom functionality while reducing development time.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform provides universal development environments that can handle multiple industrial automation tasks and device types through a single interface. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain adaptability for custom projects while using shared resources and tools, reducing overall development time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If industrial automation systems use custom development approaches, then system functionality and adaptability are improved, but development cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple development functions, tools, and resources into a single cloud-based platform. By combining IDE capabilities, device management, simulation, and collaboration tools in one unified system, it reduces the need for multiple separate software purchases and licenses, thereby lowering development costs while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform enables copying and reusing of development templates, code snippets, and configuration files across multiple projects. This reuse capability reduces redundant development work and associated costs while maintaining the ability to create custom functional solutions.
3Productivity
If cloud-based platform is used for development, then development efficiency and collaboration are improved, but data security and IP protection challenges arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the cloud platform as an intermediary that mediates between developers and their intellectual property. The platform provides secure enclaves, encryption, and controlled access mechanisms that protect data while enabling collaborative development, thus resolving the conflict between efficiency and security.
4Manufacturing precision
If real-time design feedback is implemented, then design quality and standards compliance are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms that automatically analyze design inputs against predefined standards and provide immediate corrections or warnings. This automated feedback loop improves design quality without requiring complex manual review processes, as the system self-validates against stored standards.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial development hub (IDH) supports industrial development and testing capabilities that are offered as a cloud-based service. The IDH comprises an enhanced storage platform and associated design tools that serve as a repository on which customers can store control project code, device configurations, and other digital aspects of an industrial automation project. The IDH system can facilitate discovery and management of digital content associated with control systems, and can be used for system backup and restore, code conversion, and version management.