Transformation of industrial data into useful cloud information

• US 9,565,275 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2012
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Lawson, Douglas C., Reichard, Douglas J., Harkulich, Joseph A., Hessmer, Rainer, Chand, Sujeet, Farchmin, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tang, Karen
• Application Number:
  US13/608,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20130211555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,611 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 709/232
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31326 Database to manage communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31334 Database with devices, configuration, of plant
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33139 Design of industrial communication system with expert system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/14 Time supervision arrangements, e.g. real time clock
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 : Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 : Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A cloud-compatible industrial device is provided. The industrial device generates or collects raw industrial data in connection with monitoring and/or controlling an automation system, and includes a cloud interface that couples the industrial device to one or more cloud-based services running on a cloud platform. To reduce consumption of cloud-based resources such as bandwidth and storage utilization, the industrial device can transform the raw industrial data into refined data that is amenable for cloud-based storage, computing, or analysis. Exemplary transformations include filtering, pruning, re-formatting, compressing, summarizing. In one or more embodiments, the industrial device can also add contextual metadata to the raw data prior to delivery to the cloud.

Claims

1. An industrial automation device, comprising:

a memory that stores executable components;

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

a component that generates and collects data generated by an industrial automation event, activity, or process;

a cloud interface component that communicatively couples the industrial automation device to a web-based cloud and receives a request from an application executing on the web-based cloud to append a specified item of contextual metadata to the data, wherein the contextual metadata identifies at least an identity of a site and a production area that yielded the data, an identity of a product being produced at a time the data was generated, a state of a machine at the time the data was generated, and an actionable tag; and

a transformation component that transforms the data into refined data for storage, analysis, or processing by the web-based cloud according to a determined requirement of the web-based cloud, wherein the transformation component appends the contextual metadata specified by the request to the data,

wherein the identity of the site and the production area indicates an origin of the data within a hierarchical organization model of an industrial enterprise that includes at least an enterprise level, a site level, and a production area level; and

wherein the cloud interface component sends the refined data to a cloud-based application running on the web-based cloud to notify a user in accordance with the actionable tag.

2. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the transformation component at least one of compresses, aggregates, encrypts, filters, or re-formats the data to yield the refined data.

3. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the executable components further comprise a requirements component that determines at least one of the requirement of the web-based cloud or a locally defined requirement.

4. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the contextual metadata further identifies at least one of a date, a time, a shift identifier, an employee identifier, a lot number, or an active alarm.

5. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the transformation component tags the data with the actionable tag in response to determining that a value contained in the data is indicative of at least one of an alarm condition or an achieved production goal.

6. The industrial automation device of claim 5, wherein the transformation component tags the data with notification information specifying at least one of an employee to be notified, a destination device to which a notification is to be sent, a required action, a due date for the required action, or a format for the notification.

7. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the cloud interface component interfaces the industrial automation device to the cloud-based application executing on the web-based cloud and facilitates data exchange between the industrial automation device and the cloud-based application, wherein the cloud-based application is at least one of a notification application, a business intelligence application, a visualization application, a reporting application, a storage application, or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application.

8. The industrial automation device of claim 1, wherein the cloud interface component is further configured to send information about the industrial automation device to the web-based cloud in connection with a device configuration routine, and wherein the information comprises at least one of a device identifier, a geographic location of the industrial automation device, a location of the industrial automation device relative to at least one other device within a plant hierarchy, identification of one or more other devices in proximity to the industrial automation device, or diagnostic information for the industrial automation device.

9. The industrial automation device of claim 8, wherein the information comprises at least one of a location of the industrial automation device relative to at least one other device within a plant hierarchy or identification of one or more other devices in proximity to the industrial automation device.

10. A method for transforming industrial data for transfer to a cloud-based application, comprising:

generating and collecting, by an industrial device comprising at least one processor, industrial data generated via control of an industrial process;

receiving, by the industrial device, a request from a cloud-based application executing on a web-based cloud platform to add a specified item of contextual information to the industrial data, wherein the contextual metadata represents at least a plant site identifier and a production area identifier associated with the industrial data, an identity of a product being produced at a time the industrial data was generated, a state of a machine at the time the industrial data was generated, and an actionable tag, wherein the plant site identifier and the production area identifier indicate an origin of the data within a hierarchical organizational model that describes an industrial enterprise in terms of at least an enterprise level, a plant site level, and a production area level;

transforming, by the industrial device, the industrial data into refined data in accordance with a determined requirement of the cloud-based application, wherein the transforming comprises at least adding the contextual information specified by the request to the industrial data; and

transferring, by the industrial device, the refined data to the cloud-based application to facilitate notifying a user in accordance with the actionable tag.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transforming further comprises at least one of compressing, aggregating, encrypting, filtering, or re-formatting the industrial data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the adding the contextual information further comprises adding at least one of a date, a time, a shift identifier, an employee identifier, a lot number, or an active alarm.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

reading, by the industrial device, a transform profile to determine a locally defined transformation requirement; and

transforming, by the industrial device, the industrial data based on the locally defined transformation requirement.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the transforming comprises transforming the industrial data in accordance with a required data format specified in a request for at least a subset of the industrial data received from the cloud-based application.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the transforming comprises adding the actionable tag in response to determining that the industrial data indicates that an action is required.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising tagging, by the industrial device, the industrial data with notification information specifying at least one of personnel to be notified, a destination device for a notification, an indication of the action, a due date for completion of the action, or a format for the notification.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the transferring the refined data comprises sending the refined data to at least one of a cloud-based notification application, a cloud-based visualization application, a cloud-based reporting application, cloud-based storage, a business intelligence application, or a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) application.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, including:

generating and receiving data originating from an industrial system;

receiving a request from a cloud-based application to append a specified item of contextual metadata to the data, wherein the contextual metadata comprises an identity of a plant facility and a production area within the plant facility from which the industrial data originated, an identity of a product being produced at a time the industrial data was generated, a state of a machine at the time the industrial data was generated, and an actionable tag, wherein the identity of the plant facility and the production area indicates an origin of the data within an organizational model that models an industrial enterprise in terms of multiple hierarchical levels including at least an enterprise level, a plant facility level, and a production area level;

transforming the data into refined data based on a determined requirement of the cloud-based application, wherein the transforming comprises at least appending the contextual metadata to the data; and

sending the refined data to the cloud-based application to notify a user in accordance with the actionable tag.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the transforming comprises at least one of compressing, aggregating, encrypting, filtering, or re-formatting the data.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the transforming further comprises at least one of compressing, aggregating, encrypting, filtering, or re-formatting the data to yield the refined data.