Zoomable Process Graphics for Complex Plant Topology Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial process plants with high complexity face challenges in understanding the complete topology due to the high effort required in preparing zoomable diagrams, which can impede effective interaction and control.
Innovation Solution
An automated method for generating a zoomable topology diagram that applies predefined rules to collapse objects and connections at different zoom levels, integrating alarm measures and KPIs, and storing these diagrams for efficient plant navigation and visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a zoomable topology diagram is provided for complex industrial plants, then operator understanding and navigation efficiency are improved, but the effort and complexity for preparing multiple zoom levels increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating all necessary zoom levels from a single topology diagram before operation. The generator creates multiple predefined zoom levels (e.g., plant-wide, area-level, equipment-level) in advance, so that operators can directly use the diagrams without manual preparation effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of the topology diagram at different zoom levels. Each zoom level is a copied and adapted version of the original diagram, showing appropriate levels of detail for specific viewing distances or operational contexts, reducing the need to create entirely separate diagrams for each level.
2Loss of information
If detailed topology diagrams are provided for all plant components, then complete information is available, but the complexity and difficulty of understanding the complete topology increases
Solution Approach 1:
The topology diagram is segmented into multiple zoom levels, each displaying information appropriate to its scale. The plant-wide view shows major areas and connections, while equipment-level views show detailed component information. This segmentation allows operators to access complete information when needed while avoiding overwhelming complexity in everyday viewing.
Solution Approach 2:
The diagram system is dynamic, allowing operators to switch between different zoom levels based on their current needs. The same underlying topology data is presented with varying levels of detail and complexity depending on the selected zoom level, making the system adaptable to different operational contexts.
Data Source
AI summary
A method used for generating a zoomable diagram includes providing a topology diagram of at least a part of the industrial plant for interacting with components of the industrial plant; generating, for each zoom-level of the zoomable diagram, a zoomed diagram comprising a zoomed view of each one of the plurality of objects and connections, by applying at least following rules to each object: from a first predefined zoom-level, collapse all objects of a plant-segment to one object and keep only connections that cross the plant-segment's border, and introduce an plant-segment related alarm measure as a function of all alarm statuses of the plurality of objects of the plant-segment; and when interacting with the components of the industrial plant, determining, for each plant-segment, the plant-segment related alarm measure, and outputting the plant-segment related alarm measure for healing a cause of the alarm.