System for automating scientific and engineering experimentation

• US 8,943,163 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2006
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S-Matrix
• Original Assignee: S-Matrix
• Inventors: Cooney, George A. Jr., Verseput, Richard P.
• Primary Examiner(s): MADAMBA, GLENFORD J
• Application Number:
  US11/909,773
• Publication Number:
  US 20100306784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,192 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A system for automating experimentation is disclosed. The system comprises an automated experimentation platform (AEP) for automating research, development, and engineering experimentation processes and work and a generalized exchange module (GEM) for automating data exchanges between the AEP and external software applications, devices, or the instrument control programs (ICPs) controlling the devices; a generalization of the exchange module enables all automated data exchanges to be generic. Through the use of the automated experimentation platform (AEP) and the generalized exchange module (GEM), the automation can be adapted to any targeted external software application, device or a devices'"'"' controlling software program.

Claims

1. A system for automating experimentation, wherein the system includes a processor and a memory device coupled to the processor, the system further comprising:

an automated experimentation platform (AEP) for automating one or more experimentation processes by dynamically configuring to defined experiment types and to associated instrument devices, wherein the AEP includes a design of experiment (DOE) engine that generates statistically designed experiments related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices; and

a generalized exchange module (GEM) for automating data exchanges between the AEP and one or more target applications by importing and exporting data related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices without programming and for enabling the data exchanges to be generic, wherein the GEM includes both a design of experiment (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings of the defined experiment types to the associated instrument devices and a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the associated instrument devices.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more target applications include any of external software applications, devices, and instrument control programs (ICPs).

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more experimentation processes comprises any of research, development, scientific and engineering processes.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the generalized exchange module (GEM) comprises a plurality of processes for importing data from an independent company and providing the data in a generic language to a plurality of kernel processes of the AEP and importing and exporting data from a target application to and from the plurality of kernel processes using file-less data exchange.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the GEM further comprises:

an instrument control program (ICP) importer that transforms an ICP native device description into the GEM native data structure;

a template importer that transforms experiment type settings descriptions, analysis settings descriptions, and report settings descriptions into the AEP native data structure;

a GEM graphical user interface (GUI) builder that transforms the GEM native data structure device descriptions into a dynamically configurable GEM GUI;

an experiment set up GUI that enables construction of experiments for automatic execution using a physical device description;

a design of experiments (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings for the experimenter; and

a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the device.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the AEP comprises a plurality of kernel processes for generating designs, analysis results, and reports and a plurality of processes for constructing and interpreting report templates.

7. A computer-implemented method for automating experimentation comprising:

automating one or more experimentation processes via an automated experimentation platform (AEP) by dynamically configuring to defined experiment types and to associated instrument devices, wherein the AEP includes a design of experiment (DOE) engine that generates statistically designed experiments related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices;

automating data exchanges between the AEP and one or more target applications by importing and exporting data related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices without programming using a generalized exchange module (GEM), wherein the GEM includes both a design of experiment (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings of the defined experiment types to the associated instrument devices and a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the associated instrument devices; and

enabling the data exchanges to be generic using the GEM.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the one or more target applications include any of external software applications, devices, and instrument control programs (ICPs).

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the one or more experimentation processes comprises any of research, development, scientific and engineering processes.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the data exchange automating step includes a plurality of kernel processes and a plurality of processes for constructing and interpreting templates.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the enabling step comprises a plurality of processes for importing data and results from a company and providing the data in a generic language to the plurality of kernel processes and importing and exporting data from a target application and from the plurality of kernel processes using file-less data exchange.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the enabling step comprises a generalized exchange module (GEM), the GEM further comprising:

an instrument control program (ICP) importer that transforms an ICP native device description into the GEM native data structure;

a template importer that transforms experiment type settings descriptions, analysis settings descriptions, and report settings descriptions into the AEP native data structure;

a GEM graphical user interface (GUI) builder that transforms the GEM native data structure device descriptions into a dynamically configurable GEM GUI;

an experiment set up GUI that enables construction of experiments for automatic execution using a physical device description;

a design of experiments (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings for the experimenter; and

a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the device.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions for automating experimentation comprising:

automating one or more experimentation processes via an automated experimentation platform (AEP) by dynamically configuring to defined experiment types and to associated instrument devices, wherein the AEP includes a design of experiment (DOE) engine that generates statistically designed experiments related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices;

automating data exchanges between the AEP and one or more target applications by importing and exporting data related to the defined experiment types and to the associated instrument devices without programming using a generalized exchange module (GEM), wherein the GEM includes both a design of experiment (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings of the defined experiment types to the associated instrument devices and a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the associated instrument devices; and

enabling the data exchanges to be generic using the GEM.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the one or more target applications include any of external software applications, devices, and instrument control programs (ICPs).

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the one or more experimentation processes comprises any of research, development, scientific and engineering processes.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the data exchange automating step includes a plurality of kernel processes and a plurality of processes for constructing and interpreting templates.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the enabling step comprises a plurality of processes for importing data and results from a company and providing the data in a generic language to the plurality of kernel processes and importing and exporting data from a target application and from the plurality of kernel processes using file-less data exchange.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein the enabling step comprises a generalized exchange module (GEM), the GEM further comprising:

an instrument control program (ICP) importer that transforms an ICP native device description into the GEM native data structure;

a template importer that transforms experiment type settings descriptions, analysis settings descriptions, and report settings descriptions into the AEP native data structure;

a GEM graphical user interface (GUI) builder that transforms the GEM native data structure device descriptions into a dynamically configurable GEM GUI;

an experiment set up GUI that enables construction of experiments for automatic execution using a physical device description;

a design of experiments (DOE) exporter that writes control point settings for the experimenter; and

a DOE importer that reads experiment result output data from the device.