Patent Application
20250147480
The present disclosure relates to information technologies. Various embodiments of the teachings herein include information processing methods and/or apparatus, computing devices, and computer-readable media.
According to Gartner, an operational technology (Operational Technology, OT) is a collection of hardware and software that detects or triggers changes in processes or events in an enterprise by directly monitoring and/or controlling a physical device (referred to as an OT device). The OT uses a computer to monitor or change a physical state of a system such as an industrial control system (Industrial Control System, ICS). The industrial control system is a computer-based facility, a system, and a device configured to remotely monitor and/or control a critical industrial processes to implement a physical function. The term “OT” is used to distinguish the industrial control system from a traditional information technology (Information Technology, IT) system in terms of technical implementation and functions.
The integration of IT and OT domains is becoming increasingly important in enterprise digital transformation. A to-be-solved problem is how enterprises can collect data from the OT domain and control OT domain processes in a way that is easy to understand rather than programmed by the IT domain. Currently, there are a plurality of IT low-code development tools or platforms on a market. Some tools are targeted at Internet of Things usage scenarios and are aimed at experienced IT engineers, while OT engineers and junior IT engineers find it difficult to understand paradigms of the tools. However, some tools are more suitable for a low-code development scenario in the IT domain and are not well suited for the OT domain.
A brief overview of the present disclosure is given below to provide a basic understanding of certain aspects of the teachings herein. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the teachings. It is not intended to determine key or important parts, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The purpose is merely to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.
As an example, some embodiments include an information processing method comprising: generating, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain; converting the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language; and deploying the function block program described in the domain specific language to runtime of a main controller of the workcell for execution, to control an OT device in the workcell to perform, based on the workflow, the operation.
As another example, some embodiments include an information processing method comprising: generating, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain; converting the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language; and compiling the function block program described in the domain specific language into an object code program recognizable by an OT device in the workcell.
As another example, some embodiments include an information processing apparatus comprising: a workflow generation cell, configured to generate, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain; a preprocessing cell, configured to convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language; and a deployment cell, configured to deploy the function block program described in the domain specific language to runtime of a main controller of the workcell for execution, to control an OT device in the workcell to perform, based on the workflow, the operation.
As another example, some embodiments include an information processing apparatus comprising: a workflow generation cell, configured to generate, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain; a preprocessing cell, configured to convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language; and a compilation cell, configured to compile the function block program described in the domain specific language into an object code program recognizable by an OT device in the workcell.
As another example, some embodiments include a computing device comprising: at least one processor; and a memory, coupled to the at least one processor, the memory being configured to store instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, enabling the processor to perform one or more of the methods described herein.
As another example, some embodiments include a computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor, enabling the processor to perform one or more of the methods described herein.
As another example, some embodiments include a computer program product stored on a tangible computer-readable medium and includes computer-readable instructions, and the computer-readable instructions, when executed, enable at least one processor to perform one or more of the methods described herein.
The present disclosure describes methods for converting a programming language by using a common information model into a domain specific language, and then compiling the domain specific language into an object code or assembly language recognizable by an OT execution engine or a controller. The methods described herein may be particularly suitable for the field of industrial automation, such as a PLC or a robot. By using these information processing methods, the PLC and the robot can be directly controlled without using other software, including PLC programming software or robot control software. The non-standard industrial device can be accessed through a non-standard protocol, thereby completing the compilation-level construction of an industrial automation scenario.
Discussion of the various implementations herein is merely intended to make a person skilled in the art better understand and implement the subject described in this specification, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the claims, the applicability, or examples. Changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the discussed elements without departing from the protection scope of the content of the embodiments of this application. Various processes or components may be omitted, replaced, or added in each example according to requirements. For example, the described method may be performed according to a sequence different from the sequence described herein, and steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, features described in some examples may also be combined in other examples.
As used in this specification, the term “include” and variants thereof represent open terms, and means “include but is not limited to”. The term “based on” represents “at least partially based on”. The terms “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” represent “at least one embodiment”. The term “another embodiment” represents “at least one another embodiment”. The terms “first”, “second”, and the like may represent different objects or the same object. Other definitions may be included explicitly or implicitly in the following. Unless otherwise clearly specified, the definition of one term is consistent in the entire specification.
Some embodiments of the teachings herein include a method for converting a programming language by using a common information model into a domain specific language, and then compiling the domain specific language into an object code or assembly language recognizable by an OT execution engine or a controller. The methods may be particularly suitable for the field of industrial automation, such as a PLC or a robot. By using the information processing methods described herein, the PLC and the robot can be directly controlled without using other software, including PLC programming software or robot control software. The non-standard industrial device can be accessed through a non-standard protocol, thereby completing the compilation-level construction of an industrial automation scenario.
In this specification, the concept of “workcell (workcell)” describes a system or device combination that can implement a relatively complete and independent control process and operation. In some embodiments, workflow creation is performed with a workcell as a basic cell, which is more in line with a feature of industrial control, can improve integration of development, and reduce complexity of development. For example, taking the field of industrial technologies as an example, the workcell can be defined based on an actual industrial scenario. For example, a process can be defined as a workcell, or a workstation in the process can be defined as a workcell, or a workstation in the workstation can be defined as a workcell. Different workcells have different processes.
In some embodiments, the workflow may be a workflow in an OT domain. The workcell may be a workcell in the OT domain, and the device may be an OT device. The OT device may include but is not limited to: an Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT) device, a programmable logic controller (Programmable Logic Controller, PLC), robotics (Robotics), a manual process (Manual Process), an industrial personal computer (Industrial Personal Computer, IPC), or the like.
In some embodiments, the instruction input by the user may be that the user drags and the edits a function block on a user interface of a software platform as needed, thereby editing the workflow in the OT domain. The workflow is described by using the common model, information which implements the standardization of communication between the workflow in the OT domain and main controllers of various OT devices.
Then, step S204: Convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language. In this step, the workflow described by using the common information model is preprocessed and converted into an element required by an industrial field. In some embodiments, different logical nodes of the workflow can be converted into function block programs described in different domain The specific languages. The information processing method may be particularly useful for a PLC, a robot, and another non-standard industrial device in the field of industrial automation. Therefore, the used domain specific language also includes a domain specific language for the PLC, the robot, and the non-standard industrial device. In addition, during the preprocessing, a security check (for example, removing dangerous code) and compression may be further performed on a source description language of the workflow. Details are not described in detail herein again.
The converted function block program may include: a function block program related to a PLC, a link and a logic program of the workflow, a programming language, and a robot function block programs, and the like. For example, when a behavior tree is used to represent the workflow, the link and logic of the workflow are behavior tree logic. The programming language may be, for example, Python or the like.
Then, step S206: Deploy the function block program described in the domain specific language to runtime of a main controller of the workcell for execution, to control an OT device in the workcell to perform, based on the workflow, the operation. An execution engine in the runtime can execute the function block program described in a domain specific language, thereby controlling/monitoring operations of the PLC, robot or another non-standard industrial device, which is not described in detail herein again.
In some embodiments, step S206 includes: using a JIT compiler to compile the function block program described in the domain specific language, and deploying a compiled program to the runtime of the main controller of the workcell for execution. The JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler is a high-performance solution for a function block execution engine. In some embodiments, LuaJIT and WebAssembly may be used. The JIT compiler, such as PyPy, enables the function block described in domain specific language to be executed directly on a JIT engine and then deployed to the runtime, thereby improving runtime execution performance.
In some embodiments, the OT device may include: the PLC, the robot, and the non-standard industrial device. For the PLC and the robot, an information processing method incorporating teachings of the present disclosure in
First, step S302: Generate, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain.
Then, step S304: Convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language. The function block program described in the domain specific language includes at least one of the following: a function block program related to a PLC, a link and a logic program of the workflow, a programming language, and a robot function block program.
The operations of steps S302 and S304 are similar to those of steps S202 and S204, which is not described in detail herein again.
In step S306 of the method 300, the function block program described in the domain specific language is further compiled into an object code program that recognizable by an OT device in the workcell.
Then, step S3064: Compile the function block program related to the PLC into assembly language code recognizable by the PLC, or compile the function block program related to the PLC into an intermediate language recognizable by PLC programming software, and compile the intermediate language into assembly language code recognizable by the PLC.
In step S3064, the function block program related to the PLC can be directly compiled into the assembly language code, such as MachineCode7 or another PLC assembly language, and the PLC can directly execute the assembly language code.
In this way, the assembly language code executable by the PLC can be directly generated without using other PLC programming software.
In some embodiments, when there is a PLC-based software platform compatible with an IEC61131-3 standard, the function block program described in the domain specific language can be first converted into an SCL (Structured Control Language) format, and then the software platform can further compile the SCL format into the assembly language code recognizable by the PLC. In this way, the solution in the present invention can be integrated with an existing PLC software platform.
When the OT device is the PLC, the method 300 may further include step S308: deploying the assembly language code on the PLC to control the PLC to perform, based on the workflow, the operation.
When the OT device is the robot, step S306 may specifically include: compiling the robot function block program in the function block program described in the domain specific language into a robot script program executable by a robot controller. In some embodiments, different interpreters for different robot scripts in an industrial field can be combined into a compiler, which can provide a selector to recognize different robot scripts and provide a unified interface for invoking. In this way, a method is provided to run robot scripts directly in robot controllers provided by different manufacturers.
When the OT device is the robot, the method 300 further includes step S310: deploying the robot script program on the robot controller to control the robot to perform, based on the workflow, the operation; or deploying the robot script program to runtime of a main controller of the workcell, and deploying the robot script program on the robot controller through an adapter of the runtime, to control the robot to perform based on the workflow, the operation.
In some embodiments, the PLC and the robot can be directly controlled without using other software, including PLC programming software or robot control software. The non-standard industrial device can be accessed through a non-standard protocol, thereby completing the compilation-level construction of an industrial automation scenario.
The workflow generation cell 502 is configured to generate, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain.
The preprocessing cell 504 is configured to convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language.
The deployment cell 506 is configured to deploy the function block program described in the domain specific language to runtime of a main controller of the workcell for execution, to control an OT device in the workcell to perform, based on the workflow, the operation.
The details of the operations and functions of the various parts of the information processing apparatus 500 may be the same as or similar to the relevant parts of the information processing methods described with reference to
The workflow generation cell 602 is configured to generate, based on an instruction input by a user, a workflow in an OT domain described by using a common information model, where the workflow defines an operation to be performed by a workcell in the OT domain.
The preprocessing cell 604 is configured to convert the workflow into a function block program described in a domain specific language.
The compilation cell 606 is configured to compile the function block program described in the domain specific language into an object code program recognizable by an OT device in the workcell.
In this embodiment, the OT device may be a PLC or a robot.
When the OT device is the PLC, the compilation cell 606 may be further configured to extract a function block program related to the PLC from the function block program described in the domain specific language; and compile the function block program related to the PLC into assembly language code recognizable by the PLC, or compile the function block program related to the PLC into an intermediate language recognizable by PLC programming software, and then compile the intermediate language into assembly language code recognizable by the PLC. In this case, the information processing apparatus 600 may further include a PLC deployment cell 608, which is configured to deploy the assembly language code to the PLC to control the PLC to perform, based on the workflow, the operation.
When the OT device is the robot, the compilation cell 606 may be further configured to compile the robot function block program in the function block program described in the domain specific language into a robot script program executable by a robot controller. In this case, the information processing apparatus 600 may further include a robotic deployment cell 610, which is configured to deploy the robot script program on the robot controller to control the robot to perform, based on the workflow, the operation; or deploy the robot script program to runtime of a main controller of the workcell, and deploy the robot script program on the robot controller through an adapter of the runtime, to control the robot to perform based on the workflow, the operation.
The details of the operations and functions of the various parts of the information processing apparatus 600 may be the same as or similar to the relevant parts of the information processing method 300 described with reference to
It should be understood that, when the computer-readable instruction stored in the memory 704 is executed, the at least one processor 702 is enabled to perform the foregoing various operations and functions described with reference to
In some embodiments, there is a computer-readable medium, having computer-readable instructions stored thereon. When the computer-readable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is enabled to perform the foregoing various operations and functions described with reference to
In some embodiments, a computer program includes computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, at least one processor is enabled to perform the foregoing various operations and functions described with reference to
In some embodiments, a computer program product includes computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, at least one processor is enabled to perform the foregoing various operations and functions described with reference to
It may be understood that the embodiments in this specification are all described in a progressive manner, for same or similar parts in the embodiments, reference may be made to these embodiments, and each embodiment focuses on a difference from other embodiments. The foregoing describes specific embodiments of this specification. Other embodiments fall within the scope of the appended claims. In some embodiments, the actions or steps recorded in the claims may be performed in sequences different from those in the embodiments and an expected result may still be achieved. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying drawings is not necessarily performed in the specific order or successively to achieve an expected result. In some implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be feasible or beneficial.
Not all steps and cells in the procedures and the diagrams of the system structures are necessary, and some steps or cells may be omitted according to an actual requirement. The apparatus structure described in the embodiments may be a physical structure or a logical structure. That is, some cells may be implemented by the same physical entity, or some cells may be implemented by a plurality of physical entities or may be implemented by some components in a plurality of independent devices together.
Exemplary embodiments are described above in combination with specific implementations illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but this does not represent all embodiments that may be implemented or fall within the protection scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used in the entire specification means “used as an example, an instance, or an illustration”, and does not mean “preferred” or “superior” over other embodiments. To provide an understanding of the described technologies, the specific implementations include specific details. However, these technologies may be implemented without these specific details. In some embodiments, to avoid confusing the concept of the described embodiments, a well-known structure and apparatus are shown in a block diagram form.
The descriptions in the present disclosure are provided to allow any person of ordinary skill in the art to implement or use the content of the present disclosure. For a person of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications on the content of the present disclosure are obvious. In addition, a general principle defined in this specification may be applied to other variants without departing from the protection scope of the content of the present disclosure. Therefore, the content of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described in this specification but is consistent with the widest range conforming to the principle and novelty disclosed in this specification.
The foregoing descriptions are merely example embodiments of the present disclosure, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the disclosure shall fall within the protection scope thereof.
This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/CN2022/075081 filed Jan. 29, 2022, which designates the United States of America, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2022/075081 | 1/29/2022 | WO |
