Applying Pair-Program Downloading Method for Industrial Remote Operations

Abstract

We developed a dynamic pair-program downloading architecture to establish flexible industrial remote operation environments. In the architecture, a pair of programs appears in one remote operation context. One program is downloaded to a plant side and another is downloaded to a remote operator side. Both programs are simultaneously started and communicate each other. The remote-side operator’s commands are executed in the plant side program and the execution results are viewed via the operator-side program. By using this architecture, the remote-side operator is able to select best match programs whenever he or she needs, and dynamically start them. Remote operations such as maintenance, diagnoses, and command executions are more and more needed in these days in industrial automation domains. This architecture provides a solution for flexible computing environments where dynamic operation changes are highly needed. In this paper, we explain our architecture first, and then, report the evaluation results through the experiences of architecture development, prototype application developments, and using the applications in a real remote plant-operation environment