Industrial Cloud Gateway for Remote Data Access and Store-Forward
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems generate vast amounts of near real-time data, but access to this data is typically limited to applications on the same network as the industrial controllers, restricting its use for analytics and other applications across geographically diverse locations.
Innovation Solution
A cloud gateway device that collects industrial data, performs optional processing, and pushes it to a cloud platform, enabling interface with cloud-based services and applications, and includes features like data transformation, contextualization, and encryption for secure and efficient data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If industrial data is accessed only through local network applications, then data access reliability is maintained, but data accessibility and versatility are limited to on-site devices only
Solution Approach 1:
A cloud gateway device is introduced as an intermediary between industrial controllers and cloud-based applications. The gateway collects data from controllers via local network protocols and transmits it to cloud services, enabling remote access without requiring complex private network infrastructure across multiple locations. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by providing wide accessibility while maintaining simple local network architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimensional local network architecture to a multi-dimensional architecture that combines local network collection with cloud-based distribution. Data is collected locally at each facility, then transmitted to a centralized cloud platform that can serve multiple geographically dispersed locations, adding a new dimension of remote accessibility without expanding the physical network infrastructure.
2Ease of operation
If multiple plant facilities maintain separate local applications for data access, then data security is maintained, but system scalability and ease of operation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cloud gateway is designed with universal functionality to interface with multiple different controller types and protocols from various plant facilities. A single cloud-based application can then access and analyze data from all facilities through the gateway, eliminating the need to deploy separate applications at each location while maintaining security through controlled access interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The application functionality is extracted from local devices and relocated to the cloud platform. Instead of deploying applications at each plant facility, the core data processing and analysis capabilities are hosted centrally in the cloud, with only lightweight gateway components remaining at local sites. This extraction simplifies deployment and scaling while maintaining data security through controlled access protocols.
3Productivity
If industrial controllers process and store all generated data locally, then data processing speed is maintained, but data storage requirements and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The data processing function is segmented between local controllers and cloud-based services. Controllers perform real-time processing and filtering of generated data, transmitting only essential or processed information to the cloud. The cloud platform then handles large-scale data aggregation, long-term storage, and complex analytics, dividing the storage burden across multiple facilities rather than requiring each controller to maintain extensive local storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cloud gateway for coupling an industrial system to a cloud platform is provided. The cloud gateway collects data from one or more industrial controllers, meters, sensors, or other devices comprising an industrial automation system. The cloud gateway optionally performs additional transformations on the data to add context, summarize, filter, reformat, and/or encrypt the data. The cloud gateway then sends data to a cloud platform for use by one or more cloud-based applications or services. The cloud gateway can facilitate cloud-based data collection from both fixed-location and mobile industrial systems. The cloud gateway can also support store-and-forward logic, allowing industrial data to be temporarily stored in local storage in the event that communication between the cloud gateway and the cloud platform is disrupted.