Abstract: A method for controlling a local distribution system's outtake of heat or cold from a thermal energy distribution grid.

Abstract: Industrial production facilities (such as can making factories) may tag with radio frequency near proximity devices their tooling (knockouts, dies, punches, etc) so that the tooling may be instantly located on any particular machine or location in the facility, by known critical characteristics of the tooling, particularly diameter. This is possible because each machine will also have a reader for the tags, and other areas such as inventory shelves, inspection stations, doors, loading docks, shipping departments and even vendors may also have the reading devices. Passive RFID tags and readers may be used for this purpose. The invention may be open to other businesses so inventory may be located across manufacturing systems and/or businesses.

Abstract: A method of operating a testing system comprising a plurality of testing slots. The method comprising: testing the testing slots; obtaining a current testing data from the testing slots; determining whether one of the testing slots is abnormal by comparing the current testing data with a former testing data; shutting down the one of the testing slots and sending a repairing notification if the one of the testing slots is determined to be abnormal; performing a confirmation procedure to determine whether the one of the testing slots is repaired to be normal; and restarting the one of the testing slots if the one of the testing slots passes the confirmation procedure.

Abstract: A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building includes a plurality of actuation devices operable to affect one or more variables in the building, a plurality of sensors configured to measure the variables affected by the actuation devices, and a controller. The controller is configured to operate the actuation devices to affect one or more of the measured variables by providing an actuation signal to the actuation devices and to receive sensor response signals from the sensors. The sensor response signals indicate an effect of the actuation signal on the measured variables. For each of the sensor response signals, the controller is configured to calculate a similarity metric indicating a similarity between the sensor response signal and the actuation signal. The controller is configured to automatically establish a device pairing including one of the actuation devices and one of the sensors based on the similarity metrics.

Abstract: A transport system is provided. The transport system includes a stocker configured to store an assigned wafer carrier and having a gate port. The transport system also includes a semiconductor apparatus configured to transmit a request signal including a processed time according to a processing wafer carrier loaded on the semiconductor apparatus. The transport system further includes a vehicle configured to transport the assigned wafer carrier from the gate port to the semiconductor apparatus and a control system configured to control the vehicle. When the control system receives the request signal, the control system controls the stocker to transport the assigned wafer carrier inside of the stocker to the gate port at a start time, which is earlier than the processed time, and the control system controls the vehicle to transport the assigned wafer carrier from the gate port to the semiconductor apparatus.

Abstract: In one aspect of the invention, a semiconductor packaging apparatus is provided and comprises: a bonding device for bonding a component to a substrate; a motor for driving the bonding device to operate according to a predetermined motion trajectory; a position sensor for detecting a position of the bonding device at a specific time point and generating a position signal; a motion control unit comprising a path planner for generating a position-time command for the bonding device according to a bonding process requirement, the motion control unit being configured to enable the path planner to update the position-time command based on a touch information between the component and the substrate. In a further aspect of the invention, a control algorithm for the semiconductor packaging apparatus to identify and generate the touch information is also provided, and the process control flow is optimized using the touch information.

Abstract: The embodiments described herein include one embodiment that a control method including executing an infeasible search algorithm during a first portion of a predetermined sample period to search for a feasible control trajectory of a plurality of variables of a controlled process, executing a feasible search algorithm during a second portion of the predetermined sample period to determine the feasible control trajectory if the infeasible search algorithm does not determine a feasible control trajectory, and controlling the controlled process by application of the feasible control trajectory.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to monitoring a condition of an electric drive in an industrial network. A method comprises obtaining values of input parameters, state parameters, and one or more temperatures associated with one or more components, at a first time instant. The method further comprises estimating values of the state parameters at a second time instant with a first layer of a state space model of the electric drive and the values of input parameters at the first time instant. In addition, the method comprises estimating values of the one or more temperatures at a third time instant with a second layer of the model, the values estimated for the state variables and the values of the temperatures at the first time instant. A condition of the electric drive is determined from the values of the temperatures estimated for the third time instant and one or more predetermined thresholds.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable storing instructions for operating an energy plant comprised of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) devices. In one aspect, the system generates gradient data indicating a gradient of operating performance of the energy plant with respect to values of a plurality of control variables of HVAC devices. The system determines, from the plurality of control variables, a reduced group of control variables of the HVAC devices based on the gradient data. The system determines a set of values of the reduced group of control variables. The system operates the energy plant according to the determined set of values of the reduced group of control variables.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out a method for scheduling at least one activity to achieve a time-varying energy balance of a power system. A mission plan for a mission is received. The mission plan includes at least one activity and at least one route. Each route of the at least one route includes at least one time and at least one location. A plurality of power load identifications is received for at least one time-varying power load for use in the mission plan. A plurality of energy storage device identifications is received for at least one energy storage device. Based on the plurality of power load identifications, a power requirement required to complete the mission plan is determined using the at least one power load. Based at least in part on the mission plan and the plurality of energy storage device identifications, an available power for the mission is determined.

Abstract: A system and approach for developing a periodic water usage profile and demand for controlling a water heater. A mode may be selected for demand for a certain amount of water of a particular temperature range to be available for use from the water heater. Data on hot water usage may be collected and the usage profile and demand may be calculated from the data. The water heater may be programmed to operate in a certain fashion based on the usage profile and demand. A control knob may be on the water heater control to select a particular demand. Control of the water heater may be operated from a remote device connected in a wireless or wired fashion. An optimization program may be implemented in the control of the water heater for achieving one or more beneficial goals related to water heater performance and hot water production.

Abstract: Slabs pass through a furnace in a conveying direction, are heated to rolling temperature, and are rolled in at least one roller stand. Determining device receives information showing the regions occupied by the slabs relative to one another when passing through the furnace in at least one direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and determines, for at least one rolling pass of the respective slab, an adjustment of the roller stand performing this rolling pass without prior determination of a respective temperature distribution of a respective slab or without utilization of a determined temperature of a respective slab. The determining device takes into account the region occupied by the respective preceding and/or following slab, seen in the conveying direction, relative to the respective slab, and supplies the respective determined adjustment of the roller stand to a control device, which controls the roller stand when the respective slab is being rolled.

Abstract: Described herein are several embodiments relating to irrigation controllers. In many implementations, the irrigation controllers include a housing and a removable plug-in device. The housing includes a control portion comprising a first microcontroller configured to execute stored irrigation programs. The housing includes an interface connector port and driver circuitry configured to actuate irrigation valves based on control signals received from the first microcontroller. The removable plug-in device removably coupled to the interface connector port and comprising a second microcontroller and a wireless modem configured to communicate with a wireless network.

Abstract: This temperature control device is provided with: an endothermic/exothermic unit that heats or cools a subject to be subjected to temperature control; a temperature detection unit that detects the first temperature of the periphery of the subject; a control unit that controls the endothermic/exothermic unit on the basis of a variable target temperature; and a variable target temperature setter that sets the variable target temperature to a first variable target temperature on the basis of the first temperature and target temperature information indicating the target temperature. With such temperature control device, since the target temperature changes to a suitable value as needed, a time needed until the temperature of the subject reaches the target temperature can be shortened.

Abstract: Method for controlling operating of at least one additive manufacturing apparatus (1) for additively manufacturing of three-dimensional objects is provided by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a powdered build material which can be consolidated by means of an energy beam, embodiments including exemplary steps of: supplying authorization data (AD) which contains at least one authorization parameter that authorizes the operation of at least one additive manufacturing apparatus (1) or at least one functional unit (2-7) of the at least one additive manufacturing apparatus (1) from an external data supply source (10), transmitting the authorization data (AD) from the external data supply source (10) to a control unit (8) of the at least one additive manufacturing apparatus (1), and controlling operation of the additive manufacturing apparatus (1) or the at least one functional unit (2-7).

Abstract: A machining control system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a program storage unit which stores a machining program including a plurality of data blocks; a program cache unit which temporarily stores a part of the machining program; a schedule storage unit which stores schedule information specifying a transmission sequence to the program cache unit of the plurality of data blocks; a transmission control unit which controls transmission of the data blocks to the program cache unit from the program storage unit, based on the schedule information; and a machining processing unit which reads out the data blocks from the program cache unit and performs processing required in machining.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for implementing a scalable hierarchical energy distribution grid utilizing homogeneous control logic are disclosed that provide distributed, autonomous control of a multitude of sites in an energy system using abstraction and aggregation techniques. A hierarchical energy distribution grid utilizing homogeneous control logic is provided that includes multiple control modules arranged in a hierarchy. Each control module can implement a same energy optimization scheme logic to directly control site energy resources and possibly energy resources of sites associated with control modules existing below it in the hierarchy. Each control module can act autonomously through use a similar set of input values to the common optimization scheme logic.

Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses each configured to process a substrate; a first controller installed in each substrate processing apparatus among the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses and configured to control the substrate processing apparatus; a relay configured to receive a plurality of types of data from the first controller; and a second controller configured to receive the data from the relay, wherein the relay is configured to change a transmission interval of the data to the second controller according to one of each type of the data and each first controller, or according to both of each type of the data and each first controller.

Abstract: A control system and method of control are disclosed. A model predictive control, MPC, unit is configured to determine a control signal for controlling an operation of the wind turbine based at least in part on a cost function comprising a wear cost relating to one or more types of wear of the winding turbine, and a corresponding cost weighting, which defines a relative weighting of the wear cost in the cost function. A weighting determination unit is configured to receive a reference signal comprising a target wear, receive a feedback signal comprising a wear measure of the wind turbine, and determine, based at least in part on a difference between the target wear and the wear measure, a weighting adjustment for at least part of the cost weighting of the cost function. The MPC unit then sets the cost weighting based at least in part on the weighting adjustment.

Abstract: The disclosed technology relates to an intelligent motion control system that utilizes onboard sensors and processing to guide a surface manipulation machine along a path of travel on a surface, confirm a position of the machine with respect to the surface, and actuate a surface manipulation tool to achieve a desired surface profile or locate a point of interest. The system may include a first and second surface profiler that is configured to scan a surface on which the system travels and a positional sensor configured to generate positional data representing a position of the machine. The processor is configured to generate topography data based on output received from the first surface profiler, generate intermediate data based on output received from the second profiler, compare the intermediate data with the topography data to calculate an offset; and control motion of the system based on the offset.