I wrote a blog post talking about industrial apps (1). The reading volume is relatively large. It seems that many people pay attention to industrial apps, and some readers hope to write more articles in this area. But I feel ashamed. Not to the level that can describe industrial apps systematically. In fact, many of my blog posts are based on the results of my own research. Naturally, I will not write so fast.
Confusion in practice
Talking about Industrial App (1) is our research and development report for the whole year of 2019. In 2019, from the direction of IT technology, we explored the development of industrial apps based on containers (docker) and industrial edge devices. Due to the many advantages of docker's rapid deployment, update and multi-language, multi-environment development. We think it is a good way to make industrial App specifications into images running in containers. To this end, we have developed an App management and running interface similar to the android user interface. The messaging system between apps uses the rabbitMQ messaging system and Google's pbuf encoding.
Android-like interface
Industrial App architecture based on docker technology
Edge devices based on this architecture use Rockchip's RK3399 and Allwinner's H6 modules. The terminal equipment is our self-developed modular-2, an STM32 modular equipment based on Arm's Mbed OS. The relevant information can be found in my blog post.
As I mentioned, the so-called App refers to software that is easy to deploy, run, and update. Apps developed by different vendors can run on containers. Eventually reach a realm that has nothing to do with equipment. Equipment manufacturers, system integrators, users, and third-party software companies can provide customers with valuable industrial apps, and can protect their intellectual property rights and obtain their commercial benefits.
Companies large and small claim to have developed various platforms and architectures are flying everywhere. They are nothing more than a bunch of software, protocols and specifications. In this pile of "things" (which can be called Objects in a professional sense) is the platform, and their interrelationship is the architecture. In 2019, we have been busy for a year, just to do this bunch of "things" and build a so-called platform. The purpose is to make industrial App development, deployment, and upgrade more agile. It is based on the microservice architecture of container (docker) technology. It also provides a time series database and data visualization for the App. Supporting microservices such as end device development.
At the beginning, we adopted C++ as the main app development tool. Later, in order to improve the efficiency of App development, we switched to Go language development.
These technologies have been applied in our internal projects.
However, it may be nothing more. As a small team developed this bunch of "things", in the free market, who would recognize you? In fact, many teams have lofty ideals and are building their own "things". These include big men like Ali, Baidu, or Huawei. And small people like me don't fully agree with IoT platforms like Ali and Baidu. Only fighting each other. On the other hand, engineers and system integrators in the traditional control industry are basically unable to accept IT engineers. Not to mention how easy your app is to develop. How rich the API is. Control engineers are not willing to write any programs at all. The last resort is to buy an mdbus gateway and connect it to a remote PC and mobile phone to enable the enterprise to go to the cloud.
At the same time, we also studied some industrial IoT projects of GE and DELL companies, it is nothing more than a bit richer API. It is also applauded and not popular.
The difference between information technology and operation technology (IT/OT)
Perhaps thanks to this epidemic in the spring of 2020. Home isolation has given me enough time to see what the big men in another world-Schneider, Siemens, ABB, Honeywell in the industry think and think.
In their eyes, the bunch of "things" we mentioned earlier are IT technology, and their technology is the so-called OT technology.
The so-called OT is Operating Technology, which can be translated into operating technology. The most commonly used definition of operational technology comes from Gartner : "Hardware and software that detect or cause changes by directly monitoring and/or controlling the physical devices, processes and events in the enterprise."
OT is also defined as a technology connected to the physical world, including industrial control systems (ICS), and industrial control systems include supervisory control and data acquisition ( SCADA ) and distributed control systems (DCS).
Operational technology is everywhere: you can find examples of the technology you need in facilities such as smart factories , transportation, oil and gas, mining, industrial operations of utilities (electricity, water...), and office buildings and healthcare facilities .
Just like IT, OT has developed over time. They continue to adopt the latest technology in the IT field and maintain isolation from IT technology. In many areas where OT plays an important role, proprietary protocols are beginning to be used and are often used today. In applications such as building management , the next step is to use communication protocols over IP.
An important development of OT is the ability to remotely monitor and control physical equipment. The injection of IT-based technologies such as big data and machine learning in OT , as well as the development of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and the Internet of Things (sensors), has achieved sufficient innovation in physical management. Equipment in industrial processes, as well as other equipment in diagnosis and maintenance (remote diagnosis, predictive maintenance ) and other use cases we know from the Industrial Internet of Things .
OT likes to limit itself to the lowest level of the traditional automation pyramid (field level, control level, production level, etc.). In a manufacturing plant, ERP systems are often regarded as IT technology, while process control, production line control, PLM, and MES are OT technology.
The control system includes SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition), DCS (distributed control system) and programmable logic controller (PLC) . RTU (remote terminal equipment), human-machine interface ( HMI ), embedded systems and computing technology, machinery, physical equipment in factories and variable frequency drives (VFD) are also OT operation technologies.
Although the interface between IT and OT technology is getting blurred. But their focus is different. OT technology pays more attention to the connection and control of physical equipment, emphasizing safety, real-time and certainty.
Due to the difference between IT and OT technologies, companies and experts in the OT field are very careful to define the software, network protocols, security and hardware technologies in the OT field.
OT experts' views on open systems
Experts and companies in the OT field are not conservative conservatives. They are also constantly evaluating new technologies in the IT field, especially open source IT technologies, such as docker technology, big data technology, AI technology and so on.
For example, Bill Lydon, editor-in-chief of Automation.com pointed out: "The next generation of manufacturing or production operations should be centered around a common open source architecture. This will follow the Internet and enterprise computing models driven by open standards. Industrial automation is actually a part of the computer. Use cases are not mature enough to accept these concepts."
For example, Docker container technology, OT experts also believe that container technology helps decouple hardware and software. Deploy industrial software more easily.
Schneider Electric’s Kling pointed out that at the industry level, process automation practices are evolving along paths already taken by neighboring industries such as finance, telecommunications, and healthcare. "In the industrial control system in the field of process automation, we are working hard to achieve success and apply it to our industry."
Kling added: "Today, we don't always realize when we use containers, just like when interacting with cloud-based services." "Applications that rely on cloud services may already take advantage of containers. What we are going to do The thing is that these containers will be getting closer to the edge, on-premises or in the cloud, or moved to embedded devices that live on assets
Kling said, “You don’t have to click Setup.exe anymore! The container you delivered has already set up the application, so the whole concept will disappear. Containerized software will also provide more flexibility because you can make these templated” Ready-to-use "applications build repositories and deploy them as needed."
Honeywell’s Urso said: “This is convincing for us, because in a large project, it may take 18 months to complete this process in the traditional way.” “We used to have many people in remote areas. The place to work on a physical box. Now, we can let our people handle projects in a cloud data center hosted in a set of virtual machines. After completion, we copy the virtual machines to the physical devices."
In OT technology, another important concept is MTP (module type packages)
Module engineers can use program libraries to build modules. The library contains many functions. In addition to the usual functions, it also includes graphical descriptions. These graphic descriptions facilitate the construction of reusable modules. Once the modules are constructed, the MTP is automatically formed and can be downloaded to the PLC for operation.
MTP uses automation markup language ("Automation Markup Language, AML, IEC 62714) description. Including process parameter description, service description and control image description. According to standardized methods and frameworks, each MTP includes its own integration All necessary information to the modular factory, such as communication services, human machine interface (HMI) description and maintenance information.
System engineers can use certain MTP tools to use MTP modules.
In terms of communication, OPC-UA is an important standard. For example, in ABB's MTP products, the company's ABB Ability System 800xA operates and arranges intelligent modules. The backbone of the open architecture links the business process layer to the module layer through OPC UA communication .
The following is the MTP architecture of ABB.
OT experts also pointed out. Another container instantiation that is very popular in the process industry is the Module Type Package (MTP). MTP is essentially a container created, which can simplify the integration and automation of modular process plants through pre-automated modular units that can be easily added, arranged and adjusted according to production needs.
Will IEC61499 become an industrial App package?
I haven't studied MTP too much, but I guess MTP is still vendor-related. Different manufacturers develop different MTPs. Industrial apps need to be further standardized. The IEC61499 standard is a good choice. IEC 61499 is a function block programming method for distributed industrial measurement and control systems.
Schneider's " Kling explained:" IEC 61499 has an event-driven model built around functional blocks, which solves the problem of ensuring portability, configurability and interoperability between vendors, and ensuring the independence of software and hardware at the same time. Problem, the standard allows us to independently develop containers that will run on various platforms. The company will continue to build the software package most suitable for its offer, but due to standards such as IEC 61499, the software will become increasingly interoperable. "
The distributed feature of 61499 is naturally consistent with the container, and multiple IEC61499 runtimes can be deployed in the container. Use the function block wiring diagram to form an application program.
The IEC61499 application program relies on the function block library. We also mentioned in the previous blog post that the essence of functional blocks is the graphical representation of software components. Runtime is an application that dynamically interprets and executes the network description of the function block. The IEC61499 development environment IDE can edit, deploy and monitor applications on each runtime.
You can write different runtime and function block libraries for different applications. In our research project, we adopted the IDE and Forte runtime of the open source project 4DIAC. And run Forte in a docker container. The function block library and modules have been expanded. Forte of 4DIAC is written in C++. It can be run in linux environment.
On the other hand, in order to enable the IEC61499 system to better integrate with new IT technologies such as cloud computing, big data, AI, and the Internet of Things, we independently developed TinyForte micro runtimes, which include
1 Runtime running on cortex-M series microcontrollers. It is written in C++ language and adopts Mbed OS of Arm Company. It can also be transplanted to other RTOS such as free RTOS.
2 JavaScript TinyForte running on NodeJS and browser. And developed an HMI function block library based on web UI technology
3 The tinyForte version implemented in the Go language has developed a database access (influxDB), cloud connection function block library.
These experiments are to realize the vision of IEC61499 any where .
In the above system, the above is an edge device based on linux and docker technology. Docker's orchestration tool can easily deploy IEC61499 runtime. These runtimes are independent of each other and do not interfere with each other. It's like each owning a CPU. The following is based on the cortex-M microcontroller system. They are real-time actuators and sensors.
The function blocks supported by each runtime are different. Respectively for HMI, SCADA, database, data analysis, process control, and cloud access. Through the IEC61499 IDE, the function block network at each runtime can be dynamically deployed and monitored. Some of these function blocks are real-time (RealTime), and some are online anytime (anyTime).
IEC61499 effectively protects intellectual property rights
Only by protecting the intellectual property rights of developers and gaining economic benefits for developers can they be widely adopted. The application of IEC614gongyin99 is implemented using the function block network, and developers do not need to improve the source code of the function block. Their IP is encapsulated in the runtime program. This will protect intellectual property rights without losing flexibility. Equipment suppliers, system integrators, users and third-party developers can all provide function block libraries.
summary
1 IT's container technology is suitable for deploying industrial apps.
2 The confusion of various industrial App platforms or architectures is that they lack standards and cannot be accepted by others.
3 Simply and rudely applying IT technology to the OT field is not enough and will not work.
4 The IEC61499 standard can become a packaging tool for industrial apps and realize the standardization of industrial apps.
5 Our vision is IEC61499 anywhere
Now that the project is still under constant research, the blog post is inevitably incomplete and inaccurate. Will be updated continuously. It is only for reference at the moment. Welcome to discuss together.