Operator State Handling for Shared Object Collision Avoidance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing process control systems lack efficient and dynamic utilization of state information for intelligent collaboration and collision avoidance among operators.

Innovation Solution

A process control system with a state information handling server that collects and analyzes user operations on terminals, determining if users target the same or linked objects, and performs user informing activities such as warnings or collaboration mode initiation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If state information is collected and analyzed to enable intelligent collaboration and collision avoidance, then operator collaboration and safety are improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperator safetyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a state information handling server as an intermediary component that collects, analyzes, and processes state information from multiple user terminals. This mediator handles the complex tasks of inspecting state information, determining user targeting of objects, and performing user informing activities, thereby isolating the complexity from the user terminals while improving overall system reliability and operator safety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously collecting state information from user terminals, analyzing it on the server, and providing user informing activities when collisions or shared operations are detected. This closed-loop feedback system enables real-time collision avoidance and collaboration enhancement while managing system complexity through centralized processing

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If real-time state information analysis is performed to detect shared operations, then collision avoidance is improved, but processing time and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by continuously collecting and pre-processing state information from user terminals before actual collisions occur. The server inspects state information in real-time and identifies potential collisions or shared operations in advance, enabling proactive user informing activities that prevent collisions rather than reacting to them after they occur

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs copying mechanisms where the state information handling server creates and maintains copies of state information from multiple user terminals. This allows parallel processing and analysis of multiple users' operations simultaneously, improving collision detection speed while distributing computational load across the server's processing capabilities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Loss of information

If comprehensive user operation monitoring is implemented, then collaboration awareness is improved, but information processing load increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollaboration awarenessVSAvoidprocessing load
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential and relevant state information from user terminals that is necessary for collaboration awareness and collision detection. The state information handling server selectively collects and processes specific parameters such as user positioning, selected objects, and operational context, filtering out redundant data to minimize processing load while maintaining comprehensive collaboration awareness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The state information handling server is designed as a universal platform that handles multiple functions simultaneously: collecting state information, analyzing user operations, detecting collisions, enabling collaboration, and providing user informing activities. This multi-functional approach consolidates processing requirements into a single system rather than requiring separate specialized systems for each function, thereby managing processing load more efficiently

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4148511B1State information handling in a process control system
Publication Date: 2025.10.29 ABB (SCHWEIZ) AG
  • EP4148511B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4148511B1 patent drawingFigure 2~4
  • EP4148511B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7

AI summary

The invention relates to a state information handling server (17), a process control system comprising such a state information handling server as well as to a method, computer program and computer program product for handling state information. The state information handling server (17) obtains state information (SI1, SI2) from user terminals (12, 13) of users in the process control system (10), where the state information of at least two users comprises information about user operations in relation to objects in a process control screen (SCi), inspects the state information with regard to objects (O1) in the process control screen (SCi), which inspecting comprises determining, for each user, if the corresponding user targets an object in the process control screen (SCi), and performs a user informing activity (W) if objects (O1) in the process control screen (SCi) that at least two users have targeted is the same or are linked.