Rich contextualization of automation data

A system comprising:

• a context model manager computer configured to generate a semantic context model representative of an automation system, the context model manager computer comprising:
• a model import component configured to import automation system knowledge from an automation engineering system and an automation runtime system, wherein the automation system knowledge from the automation engineering system is imported from an automation engineering tool, and wherein the automation system knowledge is provided in a plurality of distinct context models;
• a management services component configured to:
• identify conceptual entities associated with the automation system based on the automation system knowledge, and
• generate the semantic context model comprising a plurality of ontologies providing formal specifications of the conceptual entities associated with the automation system, by formally and semantically aligning the plurality of distinct context models to yield the semantic context model, and automatically translating the plurality of distinct context models into a common semantic language;
• and
• a model export component configured to deploy the semantic context model to one or more intelligent programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the automation system.