CLOUD-BASED INDUSTRIAL CONTROLLER

• US 20160274552A1
• Filed: 03/16/2015
• Published: 09/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Strohmenger, John, Korpela, Jessica L., Fordenwalt, Matthew W., Pingel, Jan, Hickox, Stephen L., Weber, Douglas B.
• Granted Patent: US 11,513,477 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23026 Recognise user input pattern and present possible intended program
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32007 Operator is assisted by expert system for advice and delegation of tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0237 based on parallel systems, e.g. comparing signals produced at the same time by same type systems and detect faulty ones by noticing differences among their responses
• 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 industrial controller that controls devices, processes, and other assets of an industrial automation system via control algorithms that execute on a cloud platform is presented. A cloud-based collection component collects information from the industrial automation system via cloud gateways associated with the industrial automation system or extrinsic data sources. The cloud-based industrial controller can monitor and analyze the information, generate control instructions based on the analysis results, and communicate the control instructions to the devices, processes, and/or other assets of the industrial automation system to control operation of the industrial automation system. The cloud-based industrial controller also can interface with a industrial plant-based industrial controller, wherein the cloud-based industrial controller can determine supplemental control instructions to the industrial plant-based industrial controller, based on the information, including extrinsic information, to assist in controlling the industrial automation system and control decision-making.

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 that is located on a cloud platform, collects a set of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system, and stores the set of industrial data in a data store; and

an industrial controller that is located on the cloud platform, interfaces, from the cloud platform, with the set of devices of the industrial automation system located in an industrial facility, and controls operations of the set of devices based at least in part on a result of an analysis of the set of industrial data in accordance with a defined control algorithm.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the collection component collects a set of data from one or more extrinsic sources that are external to the industrial facility, and wherein the industrial controller analyzes the set of industrial data and the set of data, and determines a set of control instructions to implement to control the operations of the set of devices based at least in part on another result of the analysis of the set of industrial data and the set of data, in accordance with the defined control algorithm.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein an industrial-facility-based industrial controller is located in the industrial facility and is associated with at least a portion of the set of devices, and wherein the industrial controller coordinates with the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to share control of the operations of the set of devices.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the industrial controller controls a first subset of the set of devices in accordance with a first set of control instructions, and the industrial-facility-based industrial controller controls a second subset of the set of devices in accordance with a second set of control instructions, wherein the industrial controller communicates the second set of control instructions to the industrial-facility-based industrial controller via a cloud gateway component.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the collection component collects a set of data from one or more extrinsic sources that are external to the industrial facility, and wherein the industrial controller analyzes the set of industrial data and the set of data, and determines a set of supplemental control instructions to be implemented by the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to control the second subset of devices based at least in part on another result of the analysis of the set of industrial data and the set of data, in accordance with the defined control algorithm.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the computer-executable components further comprise:

an analytics component that performs analytics on the set of industrial data and the set of data to determine a correlation between respective items of interest associated with the industrial automation system and determine a modification to the control instructions based at least in part on an analytics result of the performed analytics, wherein the industrial controller determines the set of supplemental control instructions to be implemented by the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to control the second subset of devices based at least in part on the modification to the control instructions.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the industrial controller communicates the set of supplemental control instructions to the industrial-facility-based industrial controller, via the cloud gateway component, to facilitate implementation of the set of supplemental control instructions by the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate control of the second set of devices.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable components further comprise:

an analytics component that performs analytics on at least one of the set of industrial data or a set of data that is collected from one or more extrinsic sources that are external to the industrial facility, and determines a modification to the control of the operations of the set of devices that enhances the control of the operations of the set of devices to achieve a defined goal based at least in part on an analytics result of the performed analytics, in accordance with a defined control criterion.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein, to facilitate enhancing the control of the operations of the set of devices to achieve the defined goal, the analytics component generates at least one of an instruction message that instructs that the modification be made or a recommendation message that recommends that the modification be made, and communicates at least one of the instruction message to the industrial controller or the recommendation message to a communication device associated with a user, wherein the modification comprises at least one of modification of the defined control algorithm or modification of a set of control instructions.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein, in response to receipt of the instruction message, the industrial controller modifies at least one of the defined control algorithm or the set of control instructions to facilitate enhancing the control of the operations of the set of devices to achieve the defined goal.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable components further comprise:

a virtualization component that generates the industrial controller as a virtualized industrial controller based at least in part on a virtualization result of an analysis of at least a portion of the set of industrial data, wherein the virtualized industrial controller is virtualized in the cloud platform.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtualized industrial controller operates in parallel with an industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate control of the operations of the industrial automation system, wherein the industrial-facility-based industrial controller is located in the industrial facility.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the virtualized industrial controller operates in parallel with the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate control of the operations of the industrial automation system at least until it is determined that acceptable operation of the industrial automation system has been achieved, in accordance with a defined control criterion relating to the acceptable operation of the industrial automation system.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtualization component generates a virtualized industrial automation system comprising a set of virtualized devices that correspond to the set of devices of the industrial automation system based at least in part on the virtualization result.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the industrial controller determines a set of characteristics associated with at least one of an industrial-facility-based industrial controller or the set of devices based at least in part on another result of the analysis of the set of industrial data, wherein the industrial-facility-based industrial controller is located in the industrial facility and associated with at least a portion of the set of devices.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the industrial controller determines a translation function to apply to at least one of the defined control algorithm or a set of control instructions based at least in part on the set of characteristics, translates at least one of the defined control algorithm or the set of control instructions based at least in part on the translation function to generate at least one of a translated control algorithm or a set of translated control instructions, and communicates at least one of the translated control algorithm or the set of translated control instructions to the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate control of at least the portion of the set of devices by the industrial-facility-based industrial controller.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the defined control algorithm is in an agnostic or standardized format, and is stored in the data store.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the industrial controller determines a second set of characteristics associated with at least one of a second industrial-facility-based industrial controller or a second set of devices associated with a second industrial automation system based at least in part on a second result of a second analysis of a second set of industrial data, wherein the second industrial-facility-based industrial controller is located in a second industrial facility associated with the second industrial automation system and is associated with at least a portion of the second set of devices.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the industrial controller determines a second translation function to apply to at least one of the defined control algorithm or a second set of control instructions based at least in part on the second set of characteristics, translates at least one of the defined control algorithm or the second set of control instructions based at least in part on the second translation function to generate at least one of a second translated control algorithm or a second set of translated control instructions, and communicates at least one of the second translated control algorithm or the second set of translated control instructions to the second industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate control of at least the portion of the second set of devices by the second industrial-facility-based industrial controller.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein an industrial device of the set of devices is integrated with or associated with a cloud gateway component to facilitate communication of a subset of the set of industrial data relating to the industrial device from the industrial device to at least one of the industrial controller, the collection component, or the data store.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the set 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 at least one interrelationship between the at least one device and at least one other device of the set of devices, 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.

22. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, a set of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system for storage in a data store located on a cloud platform; and

remotely controlling, by the system, from the cloud platform, operations of the set of devices based at least in part on a result of analyzing the set of industrial data in accordance with a defined control algorithm, wherein the cloud platform is separately located from and interfaced with the set of devices of the industrial automation system located in an industrial facility.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, a set of data from a set of extrinsic data sources located external to the industrial facility;

analyzing, by the system, the set of industrial data and the set of data; and

determining, by the system, a set of control instructions to implement to control the operations of the set of devices based at least in part on a result of the analyzing of the set of industrial data and the set of data, in accordance with the defined control algorithm.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

synchronizing, by the system, remotely controlling, from the cloud platform, operations of a first subset of the set of devices with locally controlling, within the industrial facility, operations of a second subset of the set of devices.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the remotely controlling, from the cloud platform, operations of the first subset of the set of devices further comprises remotely controlling, from the cloud platform, the operations of the first subset of devices in accordance with the first set of control instructions, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the system, a second set of control instructions to an industrial-facility-based industrial controller via a cloud gateway device to facilitate the locally controlling, within the industrial facility, the operations of the second subset of devices.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, a set of data from a set of extrinsic sources external to the industrial facility;

analyzing, by the system, the set of industrial data and the set of data;

determining, by the system, a set of supplemental control instructions to be implemented by the industrial-facility-based industrial controller to control the second subset of devices based at least in part on another result of the analysis of the set of industrial data and the set of data, in accordance with the defined control algorithm; and

transmitting, by the system, the set of supplemental control instructions to the industrial-facility-based industrial controller.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

performing, by the system, analytics on at least one of the set of industrial data or a set of data that is received from a set of extrinsic sources external to the industrial facility; and

determining, by the system, a change to the controlling of the operations of the set of devices that improves the controlling of the operations of the set of devices to realize a defined goal based at least in part on an analytics result of the performing of the analytics, in accordance with a defined control criterion.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

generating, by the system, a recommendation message that recommends that the change be made; and

transmitting, by the system, the recommendation message to a communication device associated with a user, to facilitate improving the controlling of the operations of the set of devices to realize the defined goal.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

changing, by the system, at least one of a defined control algorithm or a set of control instructions in response to the determining the change to the controlling of the operations of the set of devices.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

generating, by the system, a virtualized industrial controller that is located on the cloud platform based at least in part on a virtualization result of an analysis of at least a portion of the set of industrial data, wherein the virtualized industrial controller facilitates remotely controlling, from the cloud platform, the operations of the set of devices based at least in part on the result of the analysis of the set of industrial data in accordance with the defined control algorithm.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the virtualized industrial controller operates in parallel with an industrial-facility-based industrial controller to facilitate the controlling of the operations of the set of devices of the industrial automation system, and wherein the industrial-facility-based industrial controller is located in the industrial facility.

32. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining, by the system, a set of characteristics associated with at least one of an industrial controller or the set of devices based at least in part on another result of the analysis of the set of industrial data, wherein the industrial controller is located in the industrial facility and associated with at least a portion of the set of devices.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

determining, by the system, a translation to apply to at least one of the defined control algorithm or a set of control instructions based at least in part on the set of characteristics;

translating, by the system, at least one of the defined control algorithm or the set of control instructions based at least in part on the translation to generate at least one of a translated control algorithm or a set of translated control instructions; and

transmitting, by the system, at least one of the translated control algorithm or the set of translated control instructions to the industrial controller to facilitate controlling at least the portion of the set of devices by the industrial controller.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

determining, by the system, a second set of characteristics associated with at least one of a second industrial controller or a second set of devices associated with a second industrial automation system based at least in part on a second result of a second analysis of a second set of industrial data, wherein the second industrial controller is located in a second industrial facility associated with the second industrial automation system and is associated with at least a portion of the second set of devices.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

determining, by the system, a second translation to apply to at least one of the defined control algorithm or a second set of control instructions based at least in part on the second set of characteristics;

translating, by the system, at least one of the defined control algorithm or the second set of control instructions based at least in part on the second translation to generate at least one of a second translated control algorithm or a second set of translated control instructions; and

transmitting, by the system, at least one of the second translated control algorithm or the second set of translated control instructions to the second industrial controller to facilitate control of at least the portion of the second set of devices by the second controller.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

obtaining a set of industrial data from a set of devices of an industrial automation system for storage in a data store located on a cloud platform; and

controlling, from the cloud platform, operations of the set of devices based at least in part on a result of an analysis of the set of industrial data in accordance with a defined control algorithm, wherein the cloud platform is remotely located from and is interfaced with the set of devices of the industrial automation system located in an industrial facility.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining a set of data from a set of extrinsic data sources located external to the industrial facility;

analyzing the set of industrial data and the set of data; and

determining a set of control instructions for use to control the operations of the set of devices based at least in part on a result of the analysis of the set of industrial data and the set of data, in accordance with the defined control algorithm.