Process image within controllers enabling visibility and accessibility of real world objects
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsHartmut Ludwig, Thomas Gruenewald, Florian Erseh
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Abstract
A system for using digital twins to interact with physical objects in an automation system includes a plurality of controller devices, a process image backbone, and a registry comprising a plurality of digital twins. Each respective controller device comprises a volatile computer-readable storage medium comprising a process image area. The process image backbone provides the controllers with uniform access to the process image area of each controller. Each digital twin in the registry corresponds to a physical device controllable via one of the controllers devices via a corresponding process image area.
Claims19
An automation system comprising:
- a plurality of digital twins, each digital twin being a digital version of a corresponding physical device of a plurality of physical devices within the automation system;
- a plurality of controller devices, wherein each controller device of the plurality of controller devices comprises a volatile computer-readable storage medium comprising a local process image area for controlling one or more physical devices of the plurality of physical devices;
- a process image backbone connected to the plurality of controller devices and providing applications within the automation system with uniform access to the local process image area of each controller device so as to define a common process image that provides access to each digital twin by each application of the applications at respective runtimes associated with the applications that are decoupled from each other;
- and
- a registry comprising the plurality of digital twins, wherein each digital twin corresponds to a respective physical device of the plurality of physical devices controllable via a select one of the controller devices via the local process image area of the select controller device.
A computer-implemented method for using a plurality of digital twins to interact with a plurality of physical devices in an automation system, each digital twin of the plurality of digital twins being a digital version of a corresponding physical device of the plurality of physical devices, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a computing device, a request to modify a state of a first physical device of the plurality of physical devices in the automation system;
- retrieving, by the computing device, a first digital twin of the plurality of digital twins corresponding to the first physical device from a registry;
- determining, by the computing device, a function implemented by the first digital twin that corresponds to the state in the request, wherein the function is implemented using local process image data stored on a first controller device of a plurality of controller devices, the first controller device coupled to the first physical device such that the local process image data stored on the first controller device defines data for controlling the first physical device;
- calling, by the computing device, the function using the first digital twin;
- and
- a plurality of applications within the automation system accessing, via a process image backbone connected to the plurality of controller devices, the local process image data of each controller device of the plurality of controller devices so as to define a common process image that provides access to each digital twin of the plurality of digital twins by each application of the plurality of applications at respective runtimes associated with the plurality of applications that are decoupled from each other.
A computer-implemented method for using a plurality of digital twins to interact with physical objects in an automation system, each digital twin of the plurality of digital twins being a digital version of a corresponding physical device, the method comprising:
- receiving an indication that a new physical device was added to the automation system;
- determining type information and one or more properties related to the new physical device using an ontology of physical devices related to the automation system;
- generating a first digital twin based on the type information and the one or more properties;
- storing the first digital twin in a repository with information describing relationships of the new physical device and other physical devices in the automation system, wherein the first digital twin implements one or more functions using local process image data, stored on a controller coupled to the new physical device;
- and
- a plurality of applications within the automation system accessing, via a process image backbone connected to a plurality of controller devices, the local process image data of each controller device of the plurality of controller devices so as to define a common process image area that provides access to each digital twin of the plurality of digital twins by each application of the plurality of applications at respective runtimes associated with the plurality of applications that are decoupled from each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.