An industrial development hub (IDH) supports industrial development and testing capabilities that are offered as a cloud-based service. The IDH comprises an enhanced storage platform and associated design tools that serve as a repository on which customers can store control project code, device configurations, and other digital aspects of an industrial automation project. The IDH system can facilitate discovery and management of digital content associated with control systems, and can be used for system backup and restore, code conversion, and version management. The IDH also supports simulation-based design and testing tools.

In some embodiments, systems, devices, and methods described herein provide digitized ecosystem architectures connecting systems and processes within and among various entities using Internet-of-Things (IoT) to integrate physical assets of the entities. In some embodiments, one or more blockchain applications and/or smart contracts and further define and manage system integration.

Configuring distributed control in an industrial system comprises building an asset model representative of a process control installation of the industrial system and creating an asset library of distributed control assets according to a distributed control programming standard. The asset model includes modeled assets defined according to levels of a physical model standard and representing physical devices of the industrial system. The distributed control assets each have one or more predefined, built-in facets. One of the distributed control assets in the asset library is mapped to each of the modeled assets to configure the process control installation of the industrial system and generate an asset-based control application for providing distributed control of the industrial system. Additional aspects relate to auto-creation of control applications based on an information model, either through the use of machine learning or an asset configurator tool.

A method for designing a production line based on digital twin (DT), includes: determining a layout strategy of a production line; customizing a DT model of production device based on a pre-built universal DT model; allowing the production device to interact with a virtual model in real time; simultaneously testing and debugging a configuration of the production line; analyzing a test and debug result to derive a defect of the production line; modifying a virtual dynamic model; repeating until an optimal result is generated through optimization and designing the product line according to the optimal result. Based on the realization of virtual and real linkage, the present disclosure performs joint debugging on a physical entity and a virtual model in the production line so as to comprehensively consider uncertainty factors of the device and better guide the modification of the simulation model according to the test result.

A management platform for a digital twin workshop for automated assembly of circuit breakers includes a physical workshop management unit, a twin virtual workshop management unit, a twin data center and a service management unit. The physical workshop management unit performs scene object analysis, sensor network configuration and operation response. The twin virtual workshop management unit builds a virtual geometric scene and controls data movement response. The twin data center stores twin data. The service management unit performs on-line communication and builds twin data while managing and monitoring the physical workshop management unit. The management platform implements intellectualized and visualized management of production factors, activity planning and production process of a physical workshop for automated assembly of circuit breakers, so as to achieve automation control, parameter visualization and real-time-state monitoring of the physical workshop.

In some embodiments, systems, devices, and methods described herein provide digitized ecosystem architectures connecting systems and processes within and among various entities using Internet-of-Things (IoT) to integrate physical assets of the entities. In some embodiments, one or more blockchain applications and/or smart contracts and further define and manage system integration.

A data analytics service for performing data analytics functions within a distributed process control environment is provided. The service may provide a user interface for creating a first diagram, representing a data model. The first diagram may be configured, compiled, and evaluated using off-line (i.e., historical) data from a distributed process control system, which may include data stored in distributed data engines (DDEs). Following evaluation, the first diagram may be automatically converted into a second diagram that is bound to on-line (i.e., real-time) data sources within the process control environment, which may then be compiled and executed to generate performance or predictive analytics data for the process. The diagrams may comprise a plurality of configurable function blocks or modules, connected logically via wires conveying outputs or inputs of the blocks or modules.

Integrated software systems and methods that can control the design, emulation, testing and production activities of a conveyor based system. In embodiments, the control system implements an object-oriented like environment into a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) system and uses its software to define and control the operation of the PLC dynamically from a computer. In other embodiments, a hot backup method allows the conveyor system to continue to function on failure of one or more PLCs.

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.

In planning and engineering an automation solution which comprises an automation system and a process engineering plant, objects that represent the components of the configured automation solution are imported by means of a simulation tool to simulate the automation solution on the basis of simulation models associated with the imported objects. Attributes contained in objects which represent the hardware components of the automation system and which describe IT security events that may be generated by the components are entered into the associated simulation models for simulatively generating security events in a simulation of the automation solution, for transferring the simulatively generated security events to a Security Information Event Management (SIEM) system for evaluation, and for using the results of the evaluation generated by the SIEM system to simulate the automation solution.