Robotic application equipment monitoring and predictive analytics

A method for analyzing data provided by a robot system located in a plant, said method comprising:

• operating a plurality of robots in the robot system that are controlled by a programmable logic controller;
• collecting first level data by the robots concerning operating parameters of each robot while they are being operated;
• sending the collected first level data from the robots to a first data collection device located in the plant, including recording and sending process control data from a particular one of the robots being triggered when the particular robot determines that it is performing a process in a stable manner;
• analyzing the collected first level data in the first data collection device using first level analyzation software;
• storing and buffering the analyzed first level data in the first data collection device, queueing the analyzed first level data in a first buffer, and determining where and when the analyzed first level data will be processed and sent from the first buffer;
• sending the analyzed first level data from the first data collection device to a second data collection device located in the plant, including the sending being initiated based on an occurrence of a triggering event, where notification of the triggering event comes from a robot controller, an external triggering device, or internally from the first data collection device;
• analyzing the analyzed first level data collected in the second data collection device using second level analyzation software;
• storing and buffering the analyzed second level data in the second data collection device, queueing the analyzed second level data in a second buffer, and determining where and when the analyzed second level data will be processed and sent from the second buffer;
• sending the analyzed second level data from the second collection device out of the plant to a third data collection device in a network cloud;
• analyzing the analyzed second level data collected in the third data collection device in the cloud using third level analyzation software;
• and
• accessing the analyzed third level data by a web portal outside of the plant.

An analysis system for analyzing data provided by a robot system located in a plant, said analysis system comprising:

• means for operating a plurality of robots in the robot system;
• means for collecting first level data by the robots concerning operating parameters of each robot while they are being operated;
• means for sending the collected first level data from the robots to a first data collection device located in the plant, including means for recording and sending process control data from a particular one of the robots which is triggered when the particular robot determines that it is performing a process in a stable manner;
• means for analyzing the collected first level data in the first data collection device using first level analyzation software;
• means for sending the analyzed first level data from the first data collection device to a second data collection device located in the plant, including means for the sending being initiated based on an occurrence of a triggering event, where notification of the triggering event comes from a robot controller, an external triggering device, or internally from the first data collection device;
• means for analyzing the analyzed first level data collected in the second data collection device using second level analyzation software;
• means for sending the analyzed second level data from the second collection device out of the plant to a third data collection device in a network cloud;
• and
• means for analyzing the analyzed second level data collected in the third data collection device in the cloud using third level analyzation software.