Methods and apparatus to design collaborative automation systems based on data distribution service middleware

A method of providing real-time communication, the method comprising:

• receiving, via an autonomous process interface system at a field location, electrical signals of status updates from one or more field instruments;
• converting, via the autonomous process interface system, the electrical signals to digital data;
• assigning, via a master autonomous process interface system at a non-field location remote from the field location, an input/output processing and inferential modeling server to process the digital data;
• transmitting, via the master autonomous process interface system, the digital data to the input/output processing and inferential modeling server;
• inferring, via the input/output processing and inferential modeling server, unmeasured process properties from the transmitted digital data;
• and
• publishing changed values within the transmitted digital data and the unmeasured process properties from the transmitted digital data from the input/output processing and inferential modeling server to one or more subscribers,
• wherein the transmitting and the publishing are executed via real-time data distribution service (DDS) control middleware, and
• wherein the autonomous process interface system is a standalone input/output system, decoupled from the master autonomous process interface system such that a dynamic soft association is provided between the autonomous process interface system and the master autonomous process system, rather than a static and physical association, and enabled by the real-time DDS control middleware and the autonomous process interface system has associated hardware for connection to the one or more field instruments.

A collaborative automation system, comprising:

• a master autonomous process interface input/output system at a non-field location connected to a plurality of autonomous process interface input/output subsystems at respective field locations remote from the non-field location, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous process interface input/output subsystems is connected to one or more field instruments;
• an input/output processing and inferential modeling server assigned to a respective autonomous process interface input/output subsystem and configured to
• receive converted field instrument data from the master autonomous process interface input/output system,
• infer unmeasured process properties from the converted field instrument data for process control applications, and
• publish any changed values of the received converted field instrument data and the unmeasured process properties from the converted field instrument data for the process control applications to one or more subscribers via a local area control network;
• one or more control servers configured to acquire status changes from the received converted field instrument data and perform a logic of a control application;
• and
• real-time data distribution service (DDS) control middleware configured to provide interoperable communication between the process control applications and the master autonomous process interface input/output system,
• wherein each of the plurality of autonomous process interface input/output subsystems is a standalone input/output system, decoupled from the one or more control servers such that a dynamic soft association is provided between the plurality of autonomous process interface input/output subsystems and the one or more control servers, rather than a static and physical association, and enabled by the real-time DDS control middleware and each of the plurality of autonomous process interface input/output subsystems has associated hardware for connection to the one or more field instruments.