VR Plant Design IDE for Integrated Automation Development
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in integrated design and programming due to the need for separate development environments and tools, leading to a piecemeal approach that requires significant testing and debugging to ensure proper integration and is not intuitive for users.
Innovation Solution
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) system that supports a virtual design environment, allowing designers to interact with a virtual reality presentation of a plant facility to generate system project data, including control programming, device configurations, and visualizations, through manual interactions, which are translated into executable components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate development environments and tools are used for different automation disciplines, then each discipline can be developed independently, but integration complexity increases and requires significant testing and debugging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate development environments and tools into a single integrated development environment that supports virtual reality design, programming, and testing. This merging eliminates the need for separate tools for different automation disciplines while maintaining the ability to develop various aspects independently within the unified platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated development environment provides universal functionality across multiple automation disciplines including virtual reality design, programming, simulation, and testing. A single platform performs what previously required multiple specialized tools, enabling users to work across different disciplines without switching environments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate development environments are used for each automation discipline, then specialization is maintained, but development time increases due to integration testing and debugging
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual reality design environment allows users to create and validate automation system designs before actual implementation. By performing preliminary design and simulation in the virtual environment, integration issues are identified and resolved early, reducing the time needed for later testing and debugging phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated environment provides continuous feedback during the development process through virtual simulation and real-time validation. This feedback mechanism allows users to detect and correct integration issues early, preventing time-consuming debugging later in the development cycle.
3Ease of manufacture
If a piecemeal approach is used with separate tools, then each tool can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall system requires significant testing and debugging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple specialized tools into an integrated environment that maintains the functional capabilities of each individual tool while adding coordination and integration management. The unified platform preserves tool-specific optimizations while ensuring consistent integration across all automation disciplines.
4Device complexity
If separate development environments are used, then modularity is maintained, but user intuitiveness decreases and development becomes less streamlined
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated development environment provides a universal interface that maintains modular functionality while presenting a unified, intuitive user experience. Users access different automation disciplines through a consistent interface rather than switching between separate tools, improving ease of operation while preserving system modularity.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports a virtual design environment that allows an automation system designer to perform project development via interaction with a virtual reality presentation of the plant facility. The industrial design environment can generate system project data for an automation project—including but not limited to device selections, industrial control programming, device configurations, visualizations, engineering drawings, etc. —based on the developer's manual interactions with the virtual reality presentation. These interactions can include, for example, placing and moving machines or other industrial assets within the virtualized environment, defining trajectories of motion devices or robots using manual gestures, or other such interactive input. The IDE system interprets the developer's interactions as design specifications for the automation system being designed and translates these interactions into control code, visualizations, device configurations, and other system aspects that satisfy the design specifications.