According to a method according to the invention for controlling at least one manipulator, in particular a robot, a plurality of control commands (P, B, F) are worked through, in that in a state machine (ZM) the respective command runs through an active state (-A), wherein in a state machine at least one control command runs through a preliminary state (-E) that is placed ahead of its active state and/or a post-operational state (-P) that is placed after its active state, and/or a plurality of control commands are processed at the same time.

Trigger event detection employs a finite state machine (FSM) and interpolation of time-sampled data. A trigger event detector includes an interpolator configured to interpolate time-sampled data and to provide an interpolated sequence of data. The trigger event detector further includes an FSM that has a plurality of predefined states including a trigger event state. The FSM is configured to transition among the predefined states according to an ordered sequence of symbols corresponding to the interpolated sequence of data. A transition of the FSM into the trigger event state represents detection of a trigger event. The trigger event detection provides one or both of a real-time trigger and a post-acquisition trigger.

A method for operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes detecting a selection of a first task from among one or more tasks that are configured in a semantic information-based task ontology, identifying functions for each piece of device information corresponding to the first task, identifying functions corresponding to one or more devices by using a semantic information-based product information ontology, comparing the functions corresponding to the one or more devices with the functions for each piece of device information corresponding to the first task based on semantic information, and selecting a device to perform the first task from among the one or more devices based on the comparison result.

Trigger event detection employs a finite state machine (FSM) and interpolation of time-sampled data. A trigger event detector includes an interpolator configured to interpolate time-sampled data and to provide an interpolated sequence of data. The trigger event detector further includes an FSM that has a plurality of predefined states including a trigger event state. The FSM is configured to transition among the predefined states according to an ordered sequence of symbols corresponding to the interpolated sequence of data. A transition of the FSM into the trigger event state represents detection of a trigger event. The trigger event detection provides one or both of a real-time trigger and a post-acquisition trigger.

The invention relates to a method for the distributed calculation of calculation tasks by means of field devices of an industrial plant, wherein a plurality of field devices are coupled to a task distribution unit by means of a data link, the field devices effect a control of the industrial plant in an operating state in each case, at least one of the field devices receives a calculation task from the task distribution unit in an idle state and changes to a calculation state in which the calculation task is processed.