USING CLOUD-BASED DATA FOR VIRTUALIZATION OF AN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT

• US 20140336785A1
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Asenjo, Juan, Strohmenger, John, Nawalaniec, Stephen, Hegrat, Bradford H., Harkulich, Joseph A., Korpela, Jessica Lin, Wright, Jenifer Rydberg, Hessmer, Rainer, Dyck, John, Hill, Edward Alan, Conti, Sal
• Granted Patent: US 9,989,958 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/17
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0272 Presentation of monitored results, e.g. selection of status reports to be displayed; Filtering information to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A cloud-based virtualization generation service collects industrial-automation-system-related data from multiple industrial automation systems of multiple industrial customers for storage and analysis on a cloud platform. A virtualization management component analyzes the data and generates a virtualized industrial automation system of the industrial automation system based on the analysis results. The virtualization management component updates the virtualized industrial automation system based on operation of, and user interactions with, the industrial automation system. The virtualization management component receives user interactions with the virtualized industrial automation system to facilitate remotely interacting with and/or controlling the industrial automation system and/or generates corresponding control signals that it sends to the industrial automation system to facilitate controlling operation of the industrial automation system. The virtualization management component also customizes a user'"'"'s view of the virtualized industrial automation system based on user'"'"'s role, authorization, or location.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory that stores computer-executable components;

a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, that executes computer-executable components, the computer-executable components comprising;

a collection component configured to collect a subset of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system and store the industrial data in a data store; and

a virtualization management component configured to generate a virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system, based on a result of an analysis of the subset of industrial data, to facilitate remotely interacting with the industrial automation system in response to an interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the collection component, the virtualization management component, or the data store are part of the cloud platform.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising an interface component configured to interface the cloud platform with the industrial automation system via a cloud gateway device of the industrial automation system to facilitate communication of the subset of industrial data from the industrial automation system to at least one of the collection component or the virtualization management component.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to remotely control the industrial automation system in response to the interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to generate one or more control signals, based on the interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system, and transmit the one or more control signals to the industrial automation system to facilitate the remote controlling of the industrial automation system.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to monitor an operational response of the industrial automation system in response to the one or more control signals.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the collection component is further configured to collect a second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to update the virtualized industrial automation system based on a subset of data relating to the user interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system and the second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to generate a customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system for display on a communication device based on one or more customization factors associated with a user of the communication device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more customization factors comprise at least one of a role of the user in connection with the industrial automation system, an identity of the user, a device identifier associated with the communication device, a radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user, a set of access rights of the user to access the virtualized industrial automation system or the industrial automation system, authentication information associated with the user, a location of the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the communication device in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a preference of the user, or context of a set of data associated with the virtualized industrial automation system.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to share the customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system to enable the customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system to be displayed on a second communication device associated with a second user.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualized industrial automation system presents at least one of a three-dimensional virtualized view of the industrial automation system or a two-dimensional virtualized view of the industrial automation system.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualized industrial automation system presents a virtualized dashboard that comprises a set of operational data associated with operation of the industrial automation system, wherein the virtualized dashboard is displayed on a communication device associated with a user.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the virtualization management component is configured to customize the virtualized dashboard based on one or more customization factors associated with the user of the communication device, wherein the virtualization management component filters the set of operational data to generate a subset of operational data for display on the virtualized dashboard to facilitate the customization of the virtualized dashboard.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more customization factors comprise at least one of a role of the user in connection with the industrial automation system, an identity of the user, a device identifier associated with the communication device, a radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user, a set of access rights of the user to access the virtualized industrial automation system or the industrial automation system, authentication information associated with the user, a location of the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the communication device in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a preference of the user, or context of a set of data associated with the virtualized industrial automation system.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualized industrial automation system is further configured to overlay video images of a portion of the industrial automation system on the virtualized industrial automation system to generate a modified virtualized industrial automation system to facilitate providing a subset of visual data associated with the industrial automation system via the modified virtualized industrial automation system.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the collection component is further configured to collect a subset of data from a second industrial automation system of a set of industrial automation systems associated with a cloud platform and comprising the industrial automation system or from a device associated with an extrinsic entity, and wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to generate the virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system, based on a result of an analysis of the subset of industrial data and the subset of data, to facilitate remotely controlling the industrial automation system in response to the interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the subset of industrial data comprises at least one of data relating to an industrial device of the set of devices, data relating to an industrial process associated with the set of devices, data relating to an industrial asset, data relating to a network-related device of the set of devices that facilitates data communications associated with the industrial automation system, data relating to an operating system associated with the industrial automation system, data relating to software associated with the industrial automation system, or data relating to firmware associated with the industrial automation system.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the subset of industrial data comprises data relating to at least one interrelationship between the at least one device and at least one other device of the set of devices, and wherein the virtualization management component is further configured to generate at least one virtualized interrelationship that virtualizes the interrelationship between the at least one device and at least one other device, based on the data relating to the at least one interrelationship, to facilitate the generation of the virtualized industrial automation system.

20. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, a subset of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system for storage in a data store associated with the industrial automation system; and

generating, by the system, a virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to the industrial automation system, based on a result of analyzing the subset of industrial data, to facilitate remotely interacting with the industrial automation system in response to an interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

interfacing, by the system, a cloud platform, comprising the data store, with the industrial automation system to facilitate interfacing the virtualized industrial automation system with the industrial automation system; and

monitoring, by the system, the industrial automation system via the interfacing to facilitate the receiving of the subset of industrial data from the set of devices of the industrial automation system.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

generating, by the system, one or more control signals, based on the interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system; and

communicating, by the system, the one or more control signals to the industrial automation system to facilitate the remote interacting with the industrial automation system, wherein the remote interacting with the industrial automation system comprises remotely controlling the industrial automation system.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

monitoring, by the system, an operational response of the industrial automation system in response to the one or more control signals;

receiving, by the system, a second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system; and

updating, by the system, the virtualized industrial automation system based on a subset of data relating to the user interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system and the second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

generating, by the system, a customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system based on one or more customization factors associated with a user of a communication device; and

communicating, by the system, the customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system to the communication device for display on the communication device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the one or more customization factors comprise at least one of a role of the user in connection with the industrial automation system, an identity of the user, a device identifier associated with the communication device, a radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user, a set of access rights of the user to access the virtualized industrial automation system or the industrial automation system, authentication information associated with the user, a location of the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the communication device in relation to the industrial automation system, a location of the radio-frequency identification tag associated with the user in relation to the industrial automation system, a preference of the user, or context of a set of data associated with the virtualized industrial automation system.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

communicating, by the system, the customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system to a second communication device associated with a second user for display on the second communication device to facilitate sharing the customized view of the virtualized industrial automation system.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the generating the virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system further comprises:

generating, by the system, at least one of a three-dimensional virtualized industrial automation system or a two-dimensional virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system to facilitate respectively presenting at least one of a three-dimensional virtualized view of the industrial automation system or a two-dimensional virtualized view of the industrial automation system.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the generating the virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system further comprises generating a virtualized dashboard that comprises a set of operational data associated with operation of the industrial automation system, wherein the virtualized dashboard corresponds to and interfaces with the industrial automation system;

and

wherein the method further comprises communicating, by the system, the virtualized dashboard to a communication device associated with a user to facilitate displaying the virtualized dashboard on the communication device.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

filtering, by the system, the set of operational data to generate a subset of operational data for display on the virtualized dashboard, based on one or more customization factors associated with the user of the communication device, to facilitate customizing the virtualized dashboard to generate a customized virtualized dashboard;

generating, by the system, the customized virtualized dashboard based on the subset of operational data; and

communicating, by the system, the customized virtualized dashboard to the communication device to facilitate displaying the customized virtualized dashboard on the communication device.

30. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

overlaying, by the system, video images of a portion of the industrial automation system on the virtualized industrial automation system to generate an augmented virtualized industrial automation system to facilitate providing a subset of visual data associated with the industrial automation system via the augmented virtualized industrial automation system.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein the subset of industrial data comprises data relating to at least one interrelationship between the at least one device and at least one other device of the set of devices, the method further comprising:

generating, by the system, at least one virtualized interrelationship that virtualizes the interrelationship between the at least one device and at least one other device, based on the data relating to the at least one interrelationship, to facilitate the generating of the virtualized industrial automation system.

32. A computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

collecting a subset of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system for storage in a data store associated with the industrial automation system; and

generating a virtualized industrial automation system that corresponds to the industrial automation system, based on a result of analyzing the subset of industrial data, to facilitate remotely interacting with the industrial automation system in response to an interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system.

33. The computer-readable device of claim 32, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating one or more control signals based on the interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system; and

transmitting the one or more control signals to the industrial automation system to facilitate the remote interacting with the industrial automation system.

34. The computer-readable device of claim 33, wherein the operations further comprise:

monitoring an operational response of the industrial automation system in response to the one or more control signals;

receiving a second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system; and

updating the virtualized industrial automation system based on a subset of data relating to the user interaction with the virtualized industrial automation system and the second subset of industrial data relating to the operational response of the industrial automation system.