Data is received that is derived from each of a plurality of inspection camera modules forming part of a quality assurance inspection system. The data includes a feed of images of a plurality of objects passing in front of the respective inspection camera module. Thereafter, the received data is separately analyzed by each inspection camera module using at least one image analysis inspection tool. The results of the analyzing can be correlated for each inspection camera module on an object-by-object basis. The correlating can use timestamps for the images and/or detected unique identifiers within the images and can be performed by a cloud-based server and/or a local edge computer. Access to the correlated results can be provided to a consuming application or process.

Data is received that includes a feed of images of a plurality of objects passing in front of each of a plurality of inspection camera modules forming part of each of a plurality of stations. The stations can together form part of a quality assurance inspection system. The objects when combined or assembled, can form a product. The received data derived from each inspection camera module can be separately analyzed using at least one image analysis inspection tool. The analyzing can include visually detecting a unique identifier for each object. The images are transmitted with results from the inspection camera modules along with the unique identifiers to a cloud-based server to correlate results from the analyzing for each inspection camera module on an product-by-product basis. Access to the correlated results can be provided to a consuming application or process via the cloud-based server.

A system for monitoring and controlling a manufacturing environment is disclosed. Aspects discussed include beacons broadcasting identifying information for aspects of the manufacturing environment such as workstations, manufactured items, machines, equipment, and people. The identifying information may be used to generate reports about the operation of these and possibly other aspects, as well as provide control options for changing the manufacturing environment. Employees may move about the environment to visually monitor activities taking place, while the system may automatically query for additional information about the tools, equipment, people encountered in the environment. Control options for changing aspects of the manufacturing processes may also be automatically displayed as well.

A device maintenance apparatus, includes: a communication control part configured to control a communication with a device; a device information acquisition part configured to acquire device information of the device via the communication; a storage configured to store maintenance process information, the maintenance process information including device specifying information for specifying a maintenance target device and process specifying information for specifying details of a maintenance process; and an information processing part configured to compare the acquired device information to the stored maintenance process information, and to execute a maintenance process on the device based on the result of the comparison.

A system for securely disseminating information relating to a process control plant includes a process control node and a controller that is coupled to a plurality of process control devices. The process control node includes a communicator module operable to transmit, via a first network, information of the process plant received from the controller. The system also includes a data services module operable to receive from the communicator module, via the first network, the information of the process plant and to transmit some or all of that information via a second network, and a mobile server, coupled to the second network and to a third network, and operable to receive data from the data services module. The mobile server is operable to communicate with a plurality of mobile computing devices via the third network.

One aspect of the invention relates to a high-availability control system (100) for an industrial process comprising: A plurality of operator stations (108) displaying a subset of information; An interface module (105) including a pair of computers (104) for each model, each collecting each item of data received by each controller (103) having the model and eliminating the duplicates, the computers (104) operating in asynchronous redundancy; A processing module (106) including a pair of computers (104) each receiving the collected data, sorting the data received as a function of their acquisition time, eliminating the duplicates and calculating an information group by acquisition time, the computers (104) operating in active redundancy, A module for managing the operator stations (107) including one computer (104) per operator station (108), each receiving each calculated information group and sending to the operator station (108) each information group corresponding to the subset of information; A duplicate communication network, comprising a distributed redundancy module configured to manage the message exchanges between computers (104).

Data is received that is derived from each of a plurality of inspection camera modules forming part of a quality assurance inspection system. The data includes a feed of images of a plurality of objects passing in front of the respective inspection camera module. Thereafter, the received data is separately analyzed by each inspection camera module using at least one image analysis inspection tool. The results of the analyzing can be correlated for each inspection camera module on an object-by-object basis. The correlating can use timestamps for the images and/or detected unique identifiers within the images and can be performed by a cloud-based server and/or a local edge computer. Access to the correlated results can be provided to a consuming application or process.

A system for monitoring and controlling a manufacturing environment is disclosed. Aspects discussed include beacons broadcasting identifying information for aspects of the manufacturing environment such as workstations, manufactured items, machines, equipment, and people. The identifying information may be used to generate reports about the operation of these and possibly other aspects, as well as provide control options for changing the manufacturing environment. Employees may move about the environment to visually monitor activities taking place, while the system may automatically query for additional information about the tools, equipment, people encountered in the environment. Control options for changing aspects of the manufacturing processes may also be automatically displayed as well.

The present invention discloses a method for controlling transmission security of an industrial communication flow based on an SDN architecture. The method comprises: designing a flow security control module in a management controller, performing in-depth parsing on industrial communication flow data, matching the parsing result with each preset industrial rule policy, and executing a control processing operation of the industrial rule policy, to implement transmission control of an industrial communication flow. The management controller comprises an industrial rule policy database used for storing all industrial rule policies set by a user. An SDN switch maintains a structure of a flow table, and an industrial communication flow is forwarded according to the flow table. The flow table comprises a security control identifier used for indicating whether security transmission of this communication flow needs to be controlled. The present invention can detect the legality of an industrial communication data flow, to control access of industrial communication that does not conform to an industrial rule policy, so that the security and reliability of industrial control systems based on an SDN architecture are guaranteed.

Methods and Systems are described for control at/of a network node. The network node can include a control module and first and second modules coupled to the control module. The first module can be configured to select first input/output (I/O) types of a field device coupled at an I/O interface of the network node. The second module can be configured to select a second I/O types of the field device. The first and second modules can be coupled to the I/O interface through a field device coupler.