Systems and methods for generating a mission for a self-driving material-transport vehicle
Systems and methods for generating a mission for a self-driving material-transport vehicle are presented. The system comprises at least one self-driving material-transport vehicle, at least one programmable logic controller, at least one field instrument, and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium in communication with at least one processor. An application signal is received from the programmable logic controller based on an activation signal from the field instrument. A mission is generated by the application signal and a mission template, and the mission is transmitted to the self-driving material-transport vehicle. In some cases, the application signal may be based on OPC-UA, and the mission and/or mission template may be based on a REST protocol.
1. A system for instructing a self-driving material-transport vehicle within an industrial facility, comprising:
a programmable logic controller;
one or more field instruments in communication with the programmable logic controller, each field instrument being positioned at a different location within the industrial facility; and
an industrial control system processor operable to:
receive an activation signal from the one or more field instruments following a triggering condition occurring within the industrial facility detected by the one or more field instruments;
generate an application signal based at least on the activation signal, the application signal comprising mission data to enable an industrial protocol translation application to generate a mission in response to the triggering condition; and
initiate the industrial protocol translation application to:
select a mission template based at least on the application signal, the mission template comprising a set of instructions for operating the self-driving material-transport vehicle to perform a task identified by the application signal;
generate a mission, based on the application signal and the selected mission template, for the self-driving material-transport vehicle; and
transmit the mission to a fleet management system for instructing the self-driving material-transport vehicle.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the self-driving material-transport vehicle in communication with the industrial control system processor.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the application signal is based on OPC-UA.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mission template is based on a REST protocol.
5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a smart pickup-and-drop-off stand comprising a field instrument of the one or more field instruments.
6. A method for instructing a self-driving material-transport vehicle within an industrial facility, comprising:
receiving, at an industrial control system processor, an activation signal from one or more field instruments following a triggering condition occurring within the industrial facility;
generating, by the industrial control system processor, an application signal based on the activation signal, the application signal comprising mission data to enable an industrial protocol translation application to generate a mission in response to the triggering condition; and
initiating, by the industrial control system processor, the industrial protocol translation application to:
select a mission template based at least on the application signal, the mission template comprising a set of instructions for operating the self-driving material-transport vehicle to perform a task identified by the application signal;
generate a mission, based on the application signal and the selected mission template for the self-driving material-transport vehicle; and
transmit the mission to a fleet management system for instructing the self-driving material-transport vehicle.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising the step of executing the mission with the self-driving material-transport vehicle.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the application signal is based on an OPC-UA protocol.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the activation signal comprises a field-instrument identifier, and generating the mission comprises determining a mission location based on the field-instrument identifier.
10. The method of claim 6 , comprising the preliminary step of receiving the activation signal from the one or more field instruments with the programmable logic controller.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein a field instrument of the one or more field instruments is part of a smart pick-up-and-drop-off stand, such that the activation signal is generated by the smart pick-up-and-drop-off stand based on a change in a payload on the smart pick-up-and-drop-off stand.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an industrial control system processor, configure the industrial control system processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving an activation signal from one or more field instruments following a triggering condition occurring within an industrial facility in which a self-driving material-transport vehicle operates;
generating an application signal based on the activation signal, the application signal comprising mission data to enable an industrial protocol translation application to generate a mission in response to the triggering condition; and
initiating the industrial protocol translation application to:
select a mission template based at least on the application signal, the mission template comprising a set of instructions for operating the self-driving material-transport vehicle to perform a task identified by the application signal;
generate a mission, based on the application signal and the selected mission template, for the self-driving material-transport vehicle; and
transmit the mission to a fleet management system for instructing the self-driving material-transport vehicle.
13. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the application signal is based on OPC-UA.
14. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the mission template is based on a REST protocol.
15. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the activation signal comprises a field-instrument identifier, and the computer-executable instructions configure the industrial control system processor to determine a mission location based on the field-instrument identifier.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the activation signal comprises a field-instrument identifier, and the computer-executable instructions configure the industrial control system processor to determine a mission location based on the field-instrument identifier.
17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mission template comprises a text file or a string data.
18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, configure the industrial control system processor to query the programmable logic controller to determine a state of the programmable logic controller.
19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, configure the industrial control system processor to write information to the programmable logic controller based on a status of the mission or the self-driving material-transport vehicle.
20. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed, configure the industrial control system processor to determine a value of a variable in the mission template based on the application signal.