A system and method for generating a behavior model for simulating an automation system, wherein signal flows between components of the automation system are simulated. The system comprises a CAD application for developing CAD drawings of the components of the automation system, where the CAD application comprises first modules for defining a geometric scope of application for the data interfaces of the components, second modules for defining at least one signal transmission prerequisite, which marks at least one relative position of two scopes of application relative to each other, at which signal transmission is possible between associated data interfaces, third modules for verifying the compatibility of the data interfaces at which the signal transmission prerequisite is met, and fourth modules for generating the behavior model such that a signal flow between the data interfaces at which the signal transmission prerequisite and compatibility are met is modeled in the simulation.

A system and method for operating a remote plant simulation system is disclosed. The system and method uses a light application at the plant to collect relevant data and communicate it to a remote plant simulation. The remote plant simulation uses the relevant data, including data from the actual process, to create a process simulation and communicate the display data to the light application operating at the plant where it is displayed to a user. The remote system offers the advantage of offering decreased cost and improved simulation as the equipment cost, operator cost and set up cost is shared by a plurality of users. Further, the data may be stored remotely and subject to data analytics which may identify additional areas for efficiency in the plant.

A method for creating a virtual deployment of a distributed control system (DCS) for a given industrial process, comprising: providing a topology of the assets executing the industrial process, as well as control logic for controlling these assets; providing at least one I/O simulator that is configured to supply data; determining a topology of devices that form part of the DCS; establishing based at least in part on this topology of devices, at least one declarative and/or imperative description of the DCS that characterizes multiple devices of the DCS, their placement, and their connections; creating virtual instances of the devices of the DCS and their connections in a chosen environment.

A system model creating and simulation device for a process control system obtains description files of process modules including inputs, outputs and process control devices therebetween, where each description file specifies, for the corresponding module, connection terminals in the form of inputs and outputs, the process control devices and the interconnection of process control devices between the connection terminals, analyses of the description files, having determining a connection terminal of a first process module matching a connection terminal of a second process module, determines connections between the process modules based on the analysis, having determining a connection between the matching connection terminals, selecting simulation objects corresponding to the process control devices of the process modules, interconnecting the simulation objects according to data in the description files as well as through the connections determined between the process modules for forming a simulation model, and performing simulations in the simulation model.

An integrated simulation system includes a first simulation device which executes a simulation of a first program, a second simulation device which executes a simulation of a second program, a start timing setting section which sets start timing for the correlated first program and second program so as to verify the presence or absence of malfunctions caused by a start order of the correlated first program and second program, and a program starting section which issues commands to the first simulation device and the second simulation device to start the correlated first program and second program at the set start timing by a single starting operation.

Systems and methods for automated commissioning of virtualized distributed control systems are disclosed. An example method includes accessing a data structure including a list of configuration names for network cards associated with first and second host servers of a virtual process control environment. The first and second host servers implement virtual machines corresponding to workstations for a process control system. The example method also includes when configuring the first host server, assigning a first name to a first one of the network cards associated with the first host server. The example method further includes when configuring the second host server, assigning the first name to a second one of the network cards associated with the second host server based on a user selection of the first name from the list of configuration names. The second host server is configured after the first host server.

A system for testing a distributed control system of an industrial plant is provided. The distributed control system includes at least two industrial control devices and at least one data communication device. The system includes at least one engineering computer that includes an engineering data storage unit for storing engineering data of at least one part of the distributed control system, and at least one human machine interface for manipulating the engineering data. The system also includes at least one remote data processing server connected to the at least one engineering computer via a remote data connection and including an emulating virtual machine on which a soft emulator is installed for emulating one of the at least two industrial control devices and the at least one data communication device.

A technology for reproducing a communication mode of a field network on a computer is desired. An information processing device includes first and second actuator emulators, first and second controller emulators, and a storage device that stores first and second data. The first controller emulator calculates first command value for the first actuator emulator using the first data as an input at each first control period and updates the second data with data that is a collection target. The second controller emulator calculates second command value for the second actuator emulator using the second data as an input at each second control period and updates the first data with the data that is the collection target.

A computer aided process for creation of a manufacturing facility, for production of a user-selected product, relies on a set of functional modules for specification of the facility's floorspace requirements, manufacturing equipment, and equipment layout to allow optimization of the facility for a production capacity specified by the user.

A method to orchestrate configurations of simulations based on digital twin models of modular plants such that the configurations of the model-based simulations are generated and deployed automatically, is proposed and based on a logical System Structure and Parameterization functionality including a Functional Mock-up Interface-functionality combined with a Functional Mock-up Unit-functionality to generate for distributed operational-technology-applications of the modular plants simulated model components including assignment rules for automation data captured due to automation of the plants and assigned to the distributed operational-technology-applications, and deploying the simulated model components on the distributed operational-technology-applications by using the SSP-functionality with Functional Mock-up Unit-functionalities as part of the FMI-functionality for the distributed operational-technology-applications and implementing for the distributed operational-technology-applications and as part of the FMI-functionality in a server-client-manner Remote Procedure Call-technology based Proxy-FMU-functionalities with Proxy-FMU-entities embedded in the SSP-functionality and corresponding Remote-Controlled-FMU-entities implemented on the distributed operational-technology-applications is provided.