Conversation interface agent for manufacturing operation information

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10225216-B2
Application number	US-201615164729-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 25, 2016
Priority date	May 25, 2016
Publication date	Mar 5, 2019
Grant date	Mar 5, 2019

Abstract

A conversation interface system provides remote access to manufacturing operation information using plain language message exchange. A cloud-based conversation interface service is exposed to an instant messaging application, and receives plain language queries from via the instant messaging application's interface requesting information relating to one or more industrial systems. The cloud-based system synchronizes the queries to one or more on-premise conversation interface agent devices residing at one or more plant facilities. The on-premise agent devices translate the queries and apply the translated queries to local sources of manufacturing operation data. The on-premise agent devices then generate and return response messages based on the retrieved information, and the cloud-based system directs the response messages the originators of the queries via the instant messaging interface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for remotely interacting with manufacturing operation information, comprising:
a memory that stores executable components;
a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, that executes the executable components, the executable components comprising:
a query monitoring component configured to detect receipt of a plain language request message from a cloud-based conversation interface system, wherein
the plain language request message originates from an instant message application that interfaces with the cloud-based conversation interface system and comprises a request to be informed when one or more conditions of an industrial process specified by the plain language request message become satisfied, and
the one or more conditions comprise at least completion of a production goal by the industrial process;

a translation component configured to determine the one or more conditions and a source of industrial device data indicative of the one or more conditions based on an analysis of the plain language request message;
a query component configured to, in response to receipt of the plain language request, begin monitoring a subset of data items, on the source of the industrial device data, indicative of the one or more conditions of the industrial process based on the analysis of the plain language request message; and
a reply publishing component configured to, in response to a determination by the query component that a condition of the one or more conditions of the industrial process has been satisfied, formulate a plain language notification message stating that the condition has been satisfied, and send the plain language notification message to the instant message application via the cloud-based conversation interface system.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a chat identity component configured to define an identifier for the system, wherein the identifier causes the cloud-based conversation interface system to recognize the system as a member of a chat group defined for the instant message application.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sources of industrial device data comprise at least one of an industrial device residing on a same network as the system or a data collection device that collects and stores industrial device data generated by a set of industrial devices.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the query monitoring component is configured to detect the receipt of the plain language request message based on a monitoring of a publish-subscribe database to which the cloud-based conversation interface system publishes the plain language request message.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the reply publishing component is configured to send the plain language notification message to the cloud-based conversation interface system by publishing the plain language notification message to the publish-subscribe database.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein
the query monitoring component is further configured to detect receipt of a plain language query message from the cloud-based interface system, wherein the plain language query message originates from the instant message application,
the translation component is further configured to determine, based on another analysis of the plain language query message, one or more items of manufacturing operation information being requested by the plain language query message,
the query component is further configured to query the one or more sources of industrial data for the one or more items of manufacturing operation information, and
the reply publishing component is further configured to formulate a plain language reply message based on the one or more items of manufacturing operation information.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions further comprise at least one of a fault condition on an industrial device of the industrial process, utilization of energy by the industrial process in excess of a threshold value specified by the request message, or satisfaction of a specified condition by a key performance indicator of the industrial process.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the query component is further configured to, in response to a determination that at least one data item of the one or more items of manufacturing operation information is accessible by another system, send an instruction to the other system to retrieve the at least one data item.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein
the query component is further configured to, in response to determining that the one or more items of manufacturing operation information comprise a current operating status of the industrial process or an industrial device of the industrial process, retrieve time duration information identifying a duration of time for which the industrial process or the industrial device has been in the current operating status, and
the reply publishing component is further configured to include the time duration information in the plain language reply message.

10. A method for remotely accessing status and operational information for an industrial system, comprising:
detecting, by a system comprising at least one processor, receipt of a plain language request message from a cloud-based conversation interface system, wherein
the plain language request message is routed by the cloud-based conversation interface system from an instant message application and comprises a request to be notified when one or more conditions of the industrial system specified by the plain language request message become satisfied, and
the one or more conditions comprise at least completion of a production goal by the industrial system;

identifying, by the system, the one or more conditions based on an analysis of the plain language request message;
initiating, by the system in response to the identifying the one or more conditions, a monitoring of a subset of data items indicative of the one or more conditions, wherein the subset of the data items are stored in one or more sources of industrial device data;
in response to a determination, based on the monitoring, that a condition of the one or more conditions has been satisfied:
generating, by the system, a plain language notification message indicating that the condition has been satisfied; and
sending, by the system, the plain language notification message to the instant message application via the cloud-based conversation interface system.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising establishing, by the system, an identifier for the system based on configuration input, wherein the identifier causes the cloud-based conversation interface system to recognize the system as a member of a chat group defined for the instant message application.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
detecting, by the system, receipt of a plain language query message from the cloud-based conversation interface system, wherein the plain language query message is routed by the cloud-based conversation interface system from the instant message application;
determining, by the system based on another analysis of the plain language query message, at least one of a status of the industrial system or an operational statistic of the industrial system being requested by the plain language query message;
retrieving, by the system based on the determining the at least one of the status or the operational statistic, at least one of the status or the operational statistic from the one or more sources of industrial data; and
generating, by the system, a plain language reply message based on the at least one of the status or the operational statist

Assignees

• Rockwell Automation Tech Inc

Inventors

• Wise Jonathan
• Ptacek Petr
• Comeau David Wayne
• Burnham Nancy Lynne
• Walter Jonathan D
• Pantaleano Michael John
• Liberman Eugene
• Plache Kenneth S

Classifications

• H04L67/306

  User profiles · CPC title

• H04L51/066

  Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression · CPC title

• H04L51/046 Primary

  Interoperability with other network applications or services · CPC title

• H04L43/06

  Generation of reports · CPC title

• G06F17/30401

  Physics · mapped topic