Industrial Development Hub Vault for Secure Automation Code Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in efficient development, testing, and management due to complexity and the lack of virtualization and simulation capabilities, leading to long development cycles and cost overruns, as well as difficulties in managing and protecting proprietary intellectual property from failures and cyber-attacks.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based Industrial Development Hub (IDH) with enhanced storage and design tools, referred to as the Vault, supports development and testing, facilitating easy storage, backup, restore, code conversion, and version management of industrial automation projects, providing real-time design feedback and analytics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If industrial automation systems are developed and managed using traditional methods, then development can proceed with existing tools, but development cycles become long and costs overrun due to lack of virtualization and simulation capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements virtualization and simulation capabilities that allow developers to pre-test and validate control logic before actual deployment. The virtual environment enables preliminary action by simulating industrial processes and testing automation code in a risk-free setting, thereby reducing development cycles and preventing costly errors during implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of industrial processes and control environments that can be replicated and tested multiple times. These digital twins or virtual representations allow developers to work with copies rather than physical systems, enabling parallel development, testing, and validation activities that significantly accelerate the development process.
2Reliability
If traditional project management methods are used, then existing processes can be maintained, but proprietary intellectual property is vulnerable to failures and cyber-attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud-based project management system that acts as an intermediary layer between developers and the actual industrial control systems. This intermediary platform provides secure access controls, authentication mechanisms, and encrypted communication channels, thereby protecting proprietary intellectual property from cyber-attacks while maintaining reliable project management capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces traditional physical security and manual project management methods with cloud-based digital infrastructure. This substitution introduces advanced security protocols, automated access management, and encrypted data transmission that are inherently more resistant to cyber threats while improving overall system reliability for protecting intellectual property.
3Productivity
If cloud-based Industrial Development Hub is implemented, then development cycles are reduced and productivity improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cloud-based Industrial Development Hub is designed as a universal platform that consolidates multiple functions including virtualization, simulation, project management, code compilation, and deployment into a single integrated system. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate tools and systems, making the increased complexity manageable while delivering comprehensive productivity improvements across the entire automation development workflow.
Data Source
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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.