Abstract: Drones (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles, or “UAVs”) equipped with cameras and sensors may be configured to travel throughout the field environment of a process plant to monitor process plant conditions. Onboard computing devices associated with the drones control the movement of the drones through the field environment of the process plant. The onboard computing devices interface with the cameras and other sensors and communicate with user interface devices, controllers, servers and/or databases via a network. The onboard computing devices may receive drone commands from user interface devices and/or servers, or may access drone commands stored in one or more databases. The onboard computing devices may transmit data captured by the cameras and/or other sensors to UI devices, controllers, servers, etc. Accordingly, the user interface devices may display data (including live video feeds) captured by the drone cameras and/or drone sensors to an operator in a human machine interface application.

Abstract: A process control system software security architecture, that is more effective at preventing zero-day or other types of malware attacks, implements the use of “least privileges” when executing the applications and services run within a computer device. The least privileges based architecture separates “service” processes from desktop applications that run on behalf of a logged-on user by partitioning the global namespace of the software system into service namespaces and logged-on user namespaces, and by strictly controlling communications between the applications and services in these different namespaces using interprocess communications. Moreover, the security architecture uses custom accounts to assure that each service process has the least set of privileges that are needed for implementing its function regardless of the privileges associated with the calling application or user.

Abstract: A method and associated system, includes implementing a controller, configured to communicate, over a communication network, with a plurality of highly-versatile field devices coupled to the controller. The method and system also include configuring the network to facilitate communication of traffic over an advanced physical layer (APL) medium. One or more APL power switches are configured to provide connectivity to other devices and each includes a power supply to provide power via the medium. One or more APL field switches, each receiving power from a power switch, are configured to distribute both communication signals and power signals to field devices communicatively coupled to a respective field switch.

Abstract: Graphical user interface (GUI) based systems and methods are disclosed for regionizing full-size process plant displays for rendering on mobile user interface devices. A regionizer application receives a full-size process plant display that graphically represents at least a portion of a process plant that includes graphic representations of a plurality of process plant entities. The regionizer app determines display region(s) of the full-size process plant display that define corresponding view portions of the full-size process plant display. The display regions are transmitted to a mobile user interface device for rendering by a mobile display navigation app. The GUI based systems and methods can also automatically detect graphical process control loop display portions within full-size process plant displays for rendering on mobile user interface devices.

Abstract: A Multi-Purpose Dynamic Simulation and run-time Control platform includes a virtual process environment coupled to a physical process environment, where components/nodes of the virtual and physical process environments cooperate to dynamically perform run-time process control of an industrial process plant and/or simulations thereof. Virtual components may include virtual run-time nodes and/or simulated nodes. The MPDSC includes an I/O Switch which delivers I/O data between virtual and/or physical nodes, e.g., by using publish/subscribe mechanisms, thereby virtualizing physical I/O process data delivery. Nodes serviced by the I/O Switch may include respective component behavior modules that are unaware as to whether or not they are being utilized on a virtual or physical node. Simulations may be performed in real-time and even in conjunction with run-time operations of the plant, and/or simulations may be manipulated as desired (speed, values, administration, etc.).

Abstract: In a method for increasing accuracy of augmented reality information presented to a user navigating a real-world mapped environment, a specific object within a field of view of a camera of the user's mobile device is identified, at least by predicting an object type by a machine learning model processing images captured by the camera, and identifying a node that corresponds to the object type within a map database representing the mapped environment. A location associated with the node is retrieved from the map database, and is used to update or confirm one or more estimated locations of the mobile device. Digital information is caused to be superimposed on a real-world view presented to the user via a display of the mobile device, the digital information being selected based at least in part on the updated or confirmed one or more estimated locations of the mobile device.

Abstract: A graphical display configuration system of a process control system provides features within the configuration environment that allow a user to create, define, edit, and easily preview the runtime appearance and/or runtime behavior of graphical elements and/or graphical displays in-line with the configuration workflow of the user, without having to compile and/or download draft graphical configurations into the operating environment of a process plant supported by the process control system, and/or without requiring specialized scripts to be implemented within the operating environment of the process plant. Previews of runtime appearances and/or runtime behaviors of draft configurations of graphical elements and/or graphical displays (that are eventually to be executed within the operating environment of the process control system) are able to generated and presented exclusively within the configuration environment, e.g., for testing and/or verification.

Abstract: In a method of mapping a real-world process control environment, a mobile device is registered at a reference location, and positions and orientations of the mobile device are tracked using an inertial measurement unit. A user input indicating that a new node is to be added to a 3D map of the process control environment is detected, and a 3D position of a real-world object relative to the reference location is determined, or caused to be determined, based on a tracked position and orientation of the mobile device. A node database is caused to add the new node to the 3D map of the process control environment, at least by causing the 3D position of the real-world object to be stored in association with the new node.

Abstract: To secure communications from a process plant across a unidirectional data diode to a remote system, a sending device at the plant end publishes data across the diode to a receiving device at the remote end. The publication of various data is respectively in accordance with context information (e.g., identification of data sources, respective expected rate of data generation/arrival, etc.) that is descriptive of data sources of the plant and that is recurrently provided by the sending device across the diode. A recurrence interval may be based on a tolerance for lost data or another characteristic of an application, service, or consumer of data at the remote system. The publishing may leverage an industrial communication protocol (e.g., HART-IP) and/or a suitable general-purpose communication protocol (e.g., JSON).

Abstract: A Multi-Purpose Dynamic Simulation and run-time Control platform includes a virtual process environment coupled to a physical process environment, where components/nodes of the virtual and physical process environments cooperate to dynamically perform run-time process control of an industrial process plant and/or simulations thereof. Virtual components may include virtual run-time nodes and/or simulated nodes. The MPDSC includes an I/O Switch which delivers I/O data between virtual and/or physical nodes, e.g., by using publish/subscribe mechanisms, thereby virtualizing physical I/O process data delivery. Nodes serviced by the I/O Switch may include respective component behavior modules that are unaware as to whether or not they are being utilized on a virtual or physical node. Simulations may be performed in real-time and even in conjunction with run-time operations of the plant, and/or simulations may be manipulated as desired (speed, values, administration, etc.).

Abstract: A configuration element is presented on a configuration display view for configuring a graphic element object. The graphic element object is to be instantiated on a process control display view, and corresponds to a process entity in a process plant. The configuration element object has a set of properties for an attributed of the graphic element object and includes a link to a configuration display object from which the configuration display view is instantiated. The instantiation of the configuration element object includes a visual representation of the set of properties for the attribute of the graphic element object, and a link to the graphic element object to send data corresponding to a property configured in the configuration element from the set of properties. The configured property corresponds to at least one configured attribute of the graphic element.

Abstract: A method for efficiently managing configuration of modular control systems includes Detecting a communicative coupling between a workstation and a modular control system, determining whether an active project stored in a memory of the workstation matches a saved project stored in a memory of the modular control system, where each of the active project and the saved project includes a respective coordinated set of data for controlling operation of the modular control system, and when the active project and the saved project do not match, (i) determining whether the active project is correct for the modular control system, and (ii) when the active project is incorrect the modular control system, automatically providing, via an interactive user interface, a control for transferring at least a portion of the saved project from the memory of the modular control system to the active project in the memory of the workstation.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to augment process control with a virtual assistant. An example apparatus includes at least one processor and memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to determine a process control context based on a request for information associated with a field device of a process control system, the process control context based on a configuration of the process control system, identify a topic included in the request, the topic corresponding to the field device based on the process control context, map the topic to an action to be executed by the field device, generate a command to direct the field device to execute the action based on the mapping, and transmit the command to the field device to execute the action.

Abstract: A control technique controls a process in a manner that reduces the number of controller changes provided to a controlled device, and so reduces the power consumption of the controlled device along with the loading of a process control communications network disposed between the controller and the controlled device. This technique is very useful in a control system having wirelessly connected field devices, such as sensors and valves which, in many cases, operate off of battery power. Moreover, the control technique is useful in implementing a control system in which control signals are subject to intermittent, non-synchronized or significantly delayed communications and/or in a control system that receives intermittent, non-synchronized or significantly delayed process variable measurements to be used as feedback signals in the performance of closed-loop control.

Abstract: A method for decreasing the risk of unauthorized access to an embedded node in a secure subsystem of a process control system includes receiving a message comprising a message header and a message payload, and determining that the message is an unlock message configured to access one or more protected functions of the embedded node, at least by analyzing a bit sequence of one or more bits in the message header. The method also includes determining whether a manual control mechanism has been placed in a particular state by a human operator, and, based upon those determinations, either causing or not causing the embedded node to enter an unlocked state in which one or more of the protected functions are accessible.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for operating a process plant include multiple user interface devices operable to determine the location of the device in the process plant and to display data related to proximate devices. A processor in a mobile user interface device transmits a first request for data and receives the requested data in response to the request. The processor causes a display to display the received data. The processor receives an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device the processors transmits a second request for data according to the received indication. The processor then receives data in response to the second request.

Abstract: An edge gateway system securely delivers and exposes data generated by and/or related to a process plant for consumption by external systems, and includes a field-facing component that sends, to an edge-facing component of the system, a collection of data types defined based on configurations of the process plant and represented using a syntax that is native to the one or more external systems. The field-facing component streams process plant-related content data indicated by one or more interest lists to the edge-facing component, where the streamed data is expressed using the collection of data types. Each interest list may include multiple types of data (e.g., control, I/O, diagnostic, device, historical, etc.) that collectively represent a particular named entity of the plant. Accordingly, the streamed data is securely delivered and exposed, via the edge-facing component, to the external systems.

Abstract: An asset management system used in a process control plant or other control system includes a database that stores asset data for each of a plurality of devices within the plant and a viewing system that accesses the asset data to provide statistical information to a user pertaining to the plant assets. The asset management system enables a user to define and store one or more projects within the plant and a set of plant assets associated with each of the projects. Thereafter, the asset management system performs statistical analyses on the assets within one or more of the defined projects and presents, to a user via a user interface, raw and statistical information pertaining to the assets within the project. The analysis engine may determine the device states or health statuses of the assets associated with the project and may present statistical and/or historical information regarding the number or percentage of assets within the project that are in a particular state or status.

Abstract: Techniques for managing alerts associated with devices of a process control system in a process plant are described. According to certain aspects, a set of devices may generate and communicate a set of alerts to an asset management system, which can examine the set of alerts and determine whether a rule(s) is applicable. In embodiments, the rule may specify how the set of alerts should be stored as well as an action(s) to initiate in response to storing the set of alerts. The asset management system may further automatically generate new rules to be applied to alerts of the devices, to further refine the management of the alerts.

Abstract: An industrial control system, such as a process control for use in a process plant, uses a hardware/software architecture that makes the system more reactive by making the system more resilient, responsive, and elastic. The industrial control system includes one or more distributed input/output (I/O) controller devices (BFN I/O controllers) which are coupled to field devices within a plant and provide direct or indirect access to the field devices for control and messaging purposes, one or more advanced function and computation nodes, and one or more user nodes coupled to the BFN I/O controllers via a network connection. The advanced function nodes store and execute virtual machines, devices, or entities, which decouples the hardware used in the control system from the software that functions on that hardware, making the system easier to scale, reconfigure, and change.