Cloud Modeling of Industrial Automation Assets for Legacy Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial automation systems lack an efficient method for modeling and managing complex industrial environments, particularly in integrating legacy devices and facilitating remote monitoring and control across distributed systems.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based platform that utilizes a modeler component to generate and manage interactive models of industrial automation systems, integrating data from various devices and assets, and a virtualization component to create a virtualized industrial automation system for remote monitoring and control, leveraging cloud gateways and communication devices for data collection and analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cloud-based platform with modeler and virtualization components is implemented, then real-time monitoring and control capabilities are improved, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces cloud gateways as intermediary devices that bridge industrial automation systems and cloud platforms. These gateways handle data collection, preprocessing, and protocol translation, reducing the complexity burden on the core monitoring system while enabling real-time cloud-based monitoring capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtualization component creates virtual copies of industrial devices and processes in the cloud environment. These virtual models replicate the behavior and state of physical devices, enabling remote monitoring and control without requiring direct physical access to complex industrial equipment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If legacy devices are integrated into the cloud-based system, then system adaptability is improved, but integration complexity and data standardization challenges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modeler component dynamically adjusts and standardizes data parameters from legacy devices by transforming their proprietary protocols and data formats into standardized cloud-compatible formats. This parameter transformation enables seamless integration of diverse legacy equipment without requiring hardware modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud gateway is designed with universal communication capabilities that support multiple industrial protocols and data formats simultaneously. This multi-functional gateway can interface with various legacy device types using different protocols, consolidating integration logic into a single versatile component.
3Productivity
If multi-dimensional virtualized models are generated, then operational efficiency is improved, but data processing requirements and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The virtualized industrial system is divided into multiple dimensional layers (physical layer, virtual layer, cloud layer) and functional modules. This segmentation allows selective processing of data at appropriate levels, reducing unnecessary computational overhead while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system processes only the necessary subset of data required for effective monitoring and control at any given time. Rather than continuously processing all available data streams, the modeler selectively processes relevant parameters based on operational context, reducing computational resource consumption while maintaining productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cloud-based modeler component that generates interactive models of an industrial automation system(s) (IAS(s)) is presented. An interactive model facilitates remote viewing of, interaction with, troubleshooting of problems with, or optimization of industrial assets of an IAS. The modeler component polls industrial assets via cloud gateways to obtain information relating to the industrial assets to identify industrial assets of the IAS and relationships with other industrial assets or can receive information from a communication device that obtains information relating to legacy industrial assets to identify those legacy assets and their relationships. The modeler component generates an interactive model of the industrial assets of the IAS based on the information. The modeler component also can discover new industrial assets added to the IAS, can receive a pre-deployed model of an industrial asset from the industrial asset or another source, and can incorporate the pre-deployed model in the interactive model.