JP2020064623A - Drone-enabled operator rounds - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method for monitoring the state in a process plant without the physical entrance of an operator into dangerous field environment of the process plant.SOLUTION: Drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) 72a and 72b equipped with cameras 74a and 74b and sensors 76a and 76b may be configured to travel throughout the field environment of a process plant 10 to monitor the conditions of the process plant 10. Included are the steps of: determining destinations of the unmanned aerial vehicles in the process plant based on user instruction selection; and taking in camera data with one or a plurality of cameras of the unmanned aerial vehicles; transmitting the camera data to user interface devices by onboard computing devices associated with the unmanned aerial vehicles; and displaying the camera data in parallel with the outline in the process plant by the user interface device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure relates generally to industrial process plants and process control systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for using drones to monitor process plant conditions.

  Distributed process control systems, such as those used in chemical process plants, petroleum process plants, or other process plants for manufacturing, refining, converting, producing, or producing physical materials or products are typically Typically, one or more process controllers communicatively coupled to one or more field devices via an analog bus, a digital bus, or a combination analog / digital bus, or a wireless communication link or network. including. Field devices, which can be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches, and transmitters (eg, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, level sensors, and flow sensors) are located within the process environment and are commonly used to open and close valves, measure processes, and And / or perform physical or process control functions such as environmental parameters (such as temperature or pressure) to control one or more processes running within a process plant or system. Moreover, smart field devices, such as the well known Fieldbus protocol compliant field devices, may also perform control calculations, alert functions, and other control functions commonly implemented in controllers. A process controller, typically located within the plant environment, receives signals representative of process measurements made by the field device and / or other information about the field device and, for example, various controls that make process control decisions. In a field device, such as a field device such as a HART®, WirelessHART®, and FOUNDATION® Fieldbus, which executes a controller application that operates a module and generates control signals based on received information. Coordinate with a running control module or block. A control module in the controller sends control signals to the field device via a communication line or link to control the operation of at least a portion of the process plant or system, for example operating or executing in the plant or system. Control at least a portion of one or more industrial processes. For example, the controller and field device control at least a portion of the process being controlled by the process plant or system. I / O devices, which are also commonly located within a plant environment, are typically located between a controller and one or more field devices, for example, electrical signals to digital values and digital values to digital values. Converting them into electrical signals enables communication between them. As used herein, field devices, controllers, and I / O devices, commonly referred to as "process controllers," are commonly located and located within the field environment of a process control system or plant. , Or installed.

  Information from field devices and controllers is typically provided via data highways or communication networks, such as operator workstations, personal computers or computing devices, data historians, report generators, centralized databases, or, typically, plant data. Available in one or more other hardware devices, such as other centrally managed computing devices located in control rooms or other locations away from harsh field environments (eg, back end environment of a process plant) Is. Each of these hardware devices is typically a centralized device over the entire process plant or a portion of the process plant. These hardware devices are, for example, functions that the operator is involved in controlling the process and / or operating the process plant, for example changing the settings of the process control routines, modifying the operation of the control module in the controller or field device, the current process Allows you to view the status of devices, view alerts generated by field devices and controllers, simulate process behavior for training personnel or testing process control software, maintain and update configuration databases, etc. Run the application. The data highways utilized by hardware devices, controllers and field devices may include wired communication paths, wireless communication paths, or a combination of wired and wireless communication paths.

  As an example, the DeltaV ™ control system sold by Emerson Process Management Inc. includes multiple applications stored in various devices located at various locations within a process plant and executed by different devices. . A configuration application that resides in one or more workstations or computing devices in the back end environment of a process control system or plant allows a user to create or modify process control modules to control those process controls via the data highway. Allows the module to be downloaded to a dedicated distributed controller. Typically, these control modules consist of communicatively interconnected functional blocks that perform functions within the control scheme based on inputs to the functional blocks and other functional blocks within the control scheme. An object in an object-oriented programming protocol that produces output to a functional block. The configuration application further allows the configuration designer to create or modify the operator interface used by the viewing application to display data to the operator, allowing the operator to change settings (eg, settings) within the process control routine. Enable you to do. Each dedicated controller, and optionally one or more field devices, stores and executes a separate controller application that operates the assigned and downloaded control modules to implement the actual process control functions. A browsing application, which may be executed on one or more operator workstations (or on one or more remote computing devices communicatively coupled to the operator workstation and the data highway), retrieves data from the controller application via the data highway. This data may be received and displayed to a process control system designer, operator, or user using a user interface to provide any of a number of different views, such as an operator view, an engineer view, a technician view. The data historian application is typically stored within a data historian device that collects and accumulates some or all of the data provided via the data highway. Although executed, the configuration database application may run in yet another computer connected to the data highway to store the current process control routine configuration and its associated data. Alternatively, the configuration database may be located in the same workstation as the configuration application.

  These viewing applications currently provide large amounts of information to operators via operator workstations located remotely from the field environment of the plant, but operators are not able to obtain some types of information. , Still have to go to the field environment of the plant. For example, these viewing applications may display live or still images captured from cameras positioned in the plant, but these cameras typically have a fixed field of view. Therefore, the operator may need to enter the plant's field environment to look for events in the process plant that are out of the field of view of these cameras. Further, the operator is now walking through the field environment of the process plant during the scheduled tours, inspecting the condition of the plant within the field environment, performing actions within the plant, etc. Complete the safety checklist. However, in the process plant field environment, operators often physically enter the process plant field environment because of hazardous conditions such as hazardous chemicals, high temperatures, hazardous equipment, and / or loud noise. Often it is not safe to hit the target.

Multiple drones equipped with cameras and sensors may be configured to move throughout the field environment of the process plant to monitor the condition of the process plant. Generally, drones are unmanned robot vehicles. In some embodiments, the drone is an aerial drone (eg, unmanned aerial vehicle or "UAV"), while in other embodiments, the drone is a ground drone or a surface drone, or an air, ground, and / or water surface. It is a drone that has some combination of features.
An on-board computing device associated with the drone controls movement of the drone through the field environment of the process plant. In addition, the on-board computing device interfaces with cameras and other sensors and communicates over the network with user interface devices, controllers, servers and / or databases. For example, the on-board computing device may receive drone commands from the user interface device and / or server, or may access drone commands stored in one or more databases. In addition, the on-board computing device may transmit data captured by the camera and / or other sensors to UI devices, controllers, servers, etc. Thus, the user interface device may display the data captured by the drone camera and / or the drone sensor (including the live video feed) to the operator within a human machine interface (HMI) application.

  In one aspect, one method is provided. The method comprises receiving, by the user interface device, an indication of a user selection of equipment within the overview of the process plant displayed by the user interface device requiring deployment of an unmanned robotic vehicle, the process comprising: A plant overview shows a representation of the physical location of various equipment within the process plant, said receiving step and transmitting a user selection instruction to an on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robot vehicle by means of a user interface device. And an on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robot vehicle to determine the destination of the unmanned robot vehicle in the process plant based on user-selected instructions. Controlling the unmanned robot vehicle to move from a current position in the process plant to a destination in the process plant by the pewting device; capturing camera data by one or more cameras of the unmanned robot vehicle; Transmitting camera data to a user interface device by an on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle, and displaying the camera data by the user interface device alongside an overview of the process plant.

  In another aspect, a user interface device is provided. The user interface is a user interface device configured to communicate with an unmanned robotic vehicle equipped with one or more cameras, including a display, one or more processors, and computer-executable instructions. A user interface device comprising one or more memories for storing the set. Computer-executable instructions, when executed by one or more processors, are captured by a user interface device from an on-board computing device of the unmanned robot vehicle by one or more cameras of the unmanned robot vehicle. The unmanned robot vehicle is displayed with an overview of the process plant that receives the data and aligns it with the data captured by one or more cameras of the unmanned robot vehicle to show a representation of the physical location of various equipment within the process plant. Receive operator selection of equipment in the overview of the process plant that needs to be deployed, and direct the onboard computing device of the unmanned robot vehicle to the selected equipment in the overview of the process plant in which the unmanned robot vehicle needs to be deployed. Command to be transmitted

  In yet another aspect, an unmanned robot vehicle is provided. The unmanned robot vehicle stores one or more cameras configured to capture images as the unmanned robot vehicle moves through a process plant, one or more processors, and a set of computer-executable instructions. And one or more memories. Computer-executable instructions from a user interface device including commands that, when executed by one or more processors, direct an unmanned robot vehicle to equipment in a process plant to which the unmanned robot vehicle should be deployed. Command is received, the destination in the process plant is determined based on the instruction of the equipment in the process plant, the current position in the process plant is moved to the destination in the process plant, and one or more cameras are used. The captured image is transmitted to the user interface device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a process plant in which a drone may be implemented and / or included to monitor the status of the process plant. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a computing device on board a drone and an example of a user interface device shown schematically in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display view of a user interface of an operator application for monitoring the state of a process plant using a drone. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example method for monitoring the status of a process plant using an unmanned robotic vehicle.

  As mentioned above, the browsing application currently provides a large amount of information to the operator via an operator workstation located away from the field environment of the plant, but the operator gets some type of information. In order to do so, one must still go to the field environment of the plant. For example, these viewing applications may display live or still images captured from cameras positioned in the plant, but these cameras typically have a fixed field of view. Therefore, the operator may need to enter the plant's field environment to look for events in the process plant that are out of the field of view of these cameras. Further, the operator is now walking through the field environment of the process plant during the scheduled tours, inspecting the condition of the plant within the field environment, performing actions within the plant, etc. Complete the safety checklist. However, in the process plant field environment, operators often physically enter the process plant field environment because of hazardous conditions such as hazardous chemicals, high temperatures, hazardous equipment, and / or loud noise. Often it is not safe to hit the target.

  The systems, methods, devices, and techniques disclosed herein enable an operator to monitor conditions within a process plant without physically entering the hazardous field environment of the process plant. Addresses the above and other shortcomings of known systems. In particular, disclosed herein are systems, methods, devices, and techniques for monitoring the status of process plants using drones. Advantageously, a drone equipped with cameras and other sensors can safely monitor areas of the process plant that are too dangerous for operators to enter. For example, data captured by cameras and other sensors can be transmitted to a user interface device and displayed to an operator safely located outside the field environment.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a process control system or with which embodiments of systems, methods, and techniques for monitoring the status of a process plant using a drone described herein may be utilized together and / or internally. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary process control network or system 2 operating within process plant 10. FIG. The process control network or system 2 may include a network backbone 5 that provides direct or indirect connections between various other devices. The device coupled to the network backbone 5 may, in various embodiments, be one or more access points 7a, one or more gateways 7b to other process plants (eg, via an intranet or a corporate wide area network). , One or more gateways 7c to external systems (eg to the Internet), fixed computing devices (eg conventional operator workstations) or mobile computing devices (eg mobile equipment smartphones). Implemented as one or more user interface (UI) devices 8, one or more servers 12 (eg, a server bank such as a cloud computing system, or another suitable configuration) That may be), including the controller 11, input-output (I / O) cards 26 and 28, the wired field devices 15 - 22, the combination of the wireless gateway 35 and wireless communications network 70,. Communication network 70 may include wireless devices including wireless field devices 40-46, wireless adapters 52a, 52b, access points 55a, 55b, and router 58. Wireless adapters 52a, 52b may be connected to non-wireless field devices 48, 50, respectively. The controller 11 may include a processor 30, a memory 32, and one or more control routines 38. Although FIG. 1 shows only one of a number of devices that are directly and / or communicatively connected to the network backbone 5, it should be understood that each of the devices may be more than one on the network backbone 5. It may have instances and, in fact, the process plant 10 may include multiple network backbones 5.

  The UI device 8 may be communicatively connected to the controller 11 and the wireless gateway 35 via the network backbone 5. The controller 11 may be communicatively coupled to the wired field devices 15-22 via input / output (I / O) cards 26, 28 and communicate to the wireless field devices 40-46 via the network backbone 5 and wireless gateway 35. Can be connected. The controller 11 may operate to implement a batch or continuous process using at least some of the field devices 15-22, 40-50. A controller 11 (which may be, for example, a DeltaV ™ controller sold by Emerson) is communicatively connected to the process control network backbone 5. The controller 11 may further include, for example, a standard 4-20 mA device, I / O cards 26, 28, and / or any smart communication protocol (eg, FOUNDATION® Fieldbus protocol, HART® protocol, WirelessHART ( Any desired hardware and software associated with the .TM. Protocol, etc.) may be used to communicatively connect to the field devices 15-22, 40-50. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the controller 11, field devices 15-22, 48, 50 and I / O cards 26, 28 are wired devices and field devices 40-46 are wireless field devices. .

  During operation of the UI device 8, in some embodiments, the UI device 8 executes a user interface (“UI”), which allows the UI device 8 to accept input via an input interface and output on a display. It can be so. The UI device 8 may receive data (eg, process-related data such as process parameters, log data, and / or any other data that may be captured and stored) from the server 12. In other embodiments, the UI may be implemented in whole or in part at server 12, which may transmit display data to UI device 8. The UI device 8 includes UI data (including display data and process parameter data, via a backbone 5 from a process control network or other node in the system 2, such as a controller 11, a wireless gateway 35, and / or a server 12. To get). Based on the UI data received at the UI device 8, the UI device 8 outputs (ie, a visual representation or graphic, a portion of which during runtime, is representative of aspects of a process associated with the process control network or system 2. Can be updated). The user may further influence the control of the process by making inputs on the UI device 8. For purposes of illustration, the UI device 8 may provide, for example, a graphic representing the tank filling process. In such a scenario, the user may read the tank level readings and determine that the tank needs to be filled. The user may interact with the inlet valve graphic displayed on the UI device 8 and enter a command to open the inlet valve.

  In particular embodiments, UI device 8 may implement any type of client, such as a thin client, a web client, or a thick client. For example, the UI device 8 performs most of the processing necessary for the operation of the UI device 8 so as to be applicable when the memory, battery power, etc. of the UI device are limited (for example, in a wearable device). It may depend on nodes, computers, UI devices, or servers. In such an embodiment, the UI device 8 may be in communication with a server 12 or another UI device, which may be one or more other nodes on the process control network or system 2 ( (Eg, server) and may determine display data and / or process data for transmission to the UI device 8. Further, the UI device 8 can pass any data associated with the received user input to the server 12, so that the server 12 can process the data associated with the user input and act accordingly. . That is, the UI device 8 may only serve as a portal to one or more nodes or servers that render graphics, store data, and execute routines necessary for the operation of the UI device 8. The thin client UI device offers the advantage of minimal hardware requirements for the UI device 8.

  In other embodiments, the UI device 8 may be a web client. In such an embodiment, a user of UI device 8 may interact with the process control system via a browser at UI device 8. The browser allows the user to access data and resources at another node or server 12 (eg, server 12) via the backbone 5. For example, the browser receives UI data, such as display data or process parameter data, from the server 12, which causes the browser to display graphics to control and / or monitor some or all of the process. You can The browser may also receive user input (eg, mouse click on a graphic). User input may cause the browser to retrieve or access information resources stored on server 12. For example, a mouse click may cause the browser to retrieve (from the server 12) information about the clicked graphic and display it. In yet other embodiments, most of the processing of UI device 8 may occur at UI device 8. For example, the UI device 8 may execute the UI described above. The UI device 8 may also store, access, and analyze the data locally.

  In operation, a user interacts with the UI device 8 to monitor or control one or more devices (eg, either field devices 15-22 or devices 40-50) in the process control network or system 2. Can interact. Further, the user may interact with the UI device 8 to modify or change parameters associated with control routines stored in the controller 11, for example. Processor 30 of process controller 11 implements or monitors one or more process control routines (stored in memory 32) that may include a control loop. The processor 30 may communicate with the field devices 15-22, 40-50, and also with other nodes communicatively coupled to the backbone 5. Some of the control routines or modules described herein, including quality prediction modules and fault detection modules or functional blocks, may be implemented by different controllers or other devices, if desired, or Note that it can be performed. Similarly, the control routines or modules described herein to be implemented within a process control system can take any form such as software, firmware, hardware and the like. The control routines are in any desired software format, such as using object-oriented programming, ladder logic, sequential function charts, functional block diagrams, or any other software programming language or design paradigm. Can be implemented. In particular, the control routines may be defined and implemented by the user via the UI device 8. The control routines may be stored in any desired type of memory such as random access memory (RAM) or read only memory (ROM) of controller 11. Similarly, the control routines may be hard coded into, for example, one or more EPROMs, EEPROMs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other hardware or firmware element of controller 11. As such, the controller 11 implements (eg, receives, stores, and / or executes) a control strategy or routine in any desired manner (using the UI device 8 in certain embodiments). Can be configured by the user).

  In some embodiments of the UI device 8, the user may interact with the UI device 8 to define and implement control strategies in the controller 11 using what are commonly referred to as functional blocks, in which case each A functional block is an object or other part of an overall control routine (eg, a subroutine) that works with other functional blocks (via communications called links) to implement a process control loop within a process control system. To do. A control-based functional block is typically an input function (eg, an input associated with a transmitter, sensor, or other process parameter measuring device) for performing some physical function within a process control system. Function), a control function (eg, a control function associated with a control routine that performs control such as PID, fuzzy logic, etc.), or an output function that controls the operation of some device (eg, valve). To execute. Of course, there are mixed and other types of functional blocks. The functional blocks may have a graphical representation provided on the UI device 8 so that the user is associated with each of the functional blocks types, the connections between the functional blocks, and the functional blocks implemented within the process control system. The input and output can be easily modified. Functional blocks are typically those that are used or associated with standard 4-20 mA devices and some types of smart field devices (eg, HART devices). , Downloaded to the controller 11, stored in the controller 11, can be executed by the controller 11, or if functional blocks are associated with the Fieldbus device, these functional blocks are stored in the field device itself and by the field device itself. Can be implemented. Controller 11 may include one or more control routines 38 that may implement one or more control loops. Each control loop, commonly referred to as a control module, may be implemented by executing one or more of the functional blocks.

  With further reference to FIG. 1, the wireless field devices 40-46 communicate within a wireless network 70 using a wireless protocol, such as the Wireless HART protocol. In particular embodiments, UI device 8 may be capable of communicating with wireless field devices 40-46 using wireless network 70. Such wireless field devices 40-46 communicate directly with one or more other nodes of the process control network or system 2 that are also configured to wirelessly communicate (eg, using a wireless protocol). You can The wireless field devices 40-46 may utilize the wireless gateway 35 connected to the backbone 5 to communicate with one or more other nodes that are not configured to communicate wirelessly. Of course, the field devices 15-22, 40-46 are compliant with any other desired standard (s) or protocols, such as any wired or wireless protocol, including any standards or protocols developed in the future. obtain.

  Wireless gateway 35 may provide access to various wireless devices or nodes 40-46, 52-58 of wireless communication network 70. In particular, the wireless gateway 35 provides a communication connection between the wireless devices 40-46, 52-58 and other nodes of the process control network or system 2 (including the controller 11 of FIG. 1). The wireless gateway 35 provides communication connectivity to lower layers of the wired and wireless protocol stacks (eg, address translation, routing, packet splitting, prioritization, etc.), possibly with routing, buffering, and timing services. In one implementation, tunnel the shared layer (s) of the wired and wireless protocol stacks. In other cases, the wireless gateway 35 may translate commands between wired and wireless protocols that do not share any protocol layers.

  Similar to the wired field devices 15-22, the wireless field devices 40-46 of the wireless network 70 may perform physical control functions within the process plant 10, such as opening and closing valves or measuring process parameters. However, the wireless field devices 40-46 are configured to communicate using the wireless protocol of the network 70. Therefore, the wireless field devices 40 to 46, the wireless gateway 35, and the other wireless nodes 52 to 58 of the wireless network 70 are producers and consumers of wireless communication packets.

  In some scenarios, wireless network 70 may include non-wireless devices 48, 50, which may be wired devices. For example, the field device 48 of FIG. 1 can be a legacy 4-20 mA device and the field device 50 can be a conventional wired HART device. The field devices 48, 50 may be connected to the wireless communication network 70 via individual wireless adapters (WA) 52a, 52b for communicating within the network 70. Further, the wireless adapters 52a, 52b may also support other communication protocols such as Foundation® Fieldbus, PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, and the like. Further, the wireless network 70 may be a separate physical device in wired communication with the wireless gateway 35, or may be co-located with the wireless gateway 35 as an integrated device, one or more network access points 55a. , 55b. The wireless network 70 may further include one or more routers 58 for forwarding packets from one wireless device within the wireless communication network 70 to another wireless device. The wireless devices 40-46, 52-58 may communicate with each other and the wireless gateway 35 via the wireless link 60 of the wireless communication network 70.

  In particular embodiments, the process control network or system 2 may include other nodes connected to a network backbone 5 that communicate using other wireless protocols. For example, the process control network or system 2 may be, for example, Wi-Fi or other IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless local area network protocol, WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution-) or others. R (International Telecommunications Union Radio Communications Division) compliant protocols such as mobile communication protocols, near field communication (NFC) and short wavelength wireless communication such as Bluetooth, and / or others. Other wireless communication protocols such as It may include one or more wireless access points 7a utilizing a protocol. Typically, such a wireless access point 7a allows a handheld or other portable computing device to communicate over an individual wireless network that supports a different wireless protocol than the wireless network 70. Can communicate. In some embodiments, the UI device 8 uses the wireless access point 7a to communicate via the process control network or system 2. In some scenarios, in addition to portable computing devices, one or more process controllers (eg, controller 11, field devices 15-22, wireless devices 35, 40-46, 52-58) may also access point 7a. May be communicated using a wireless network supported by.

  Additionally or alternatively, the process control network or system 2 may include one or more gateways 7b, 7c to systems external to the subject process control system. In such an embodiment, the UI device 8 may be used to control, monitor, or otherwise communicate with the external system. Typically, such systems are consumers and / or suppliers of information produced or manipulated by process control systems. For example, the plant gateway node 7b communicatively connects the process plant 10 of interest (having its own individual process control data network backbone 5) to another process plant having its own individual network backbone. In one embodiment, one network backbone 5 may enable multiple process plants or process control environments.

  In another example, the plant gateway node 7b may communicatively connect the process plant of interest to a legacy or prior art process plant that does not include the process control network or system 2 or backbone 5. In this embodiment, the plant gateway node 7b is a protocol used by the process control big data backbone 5 of the plant 10 and a different protocol used by the legacy system (eg, Ethernet, Profibus, Fieldbus, DeviceNet, etc.). Messages can be translated or translated to and from. In such an embodiment, the UI device 8 may be used to control, monitor, or otherwise communicate with a system or network within the legacy or prior art process plant.

  The process control network or system 2 may be a process control network or system 2 that is a laboratory system (eg, Laboratory Information Management System or LIMS), personnel circulation database, material handling system, maintenance management system, product inventory control system, production scheduling. Communicates with a network of external public or private systems, such as systems, weather data systems, shipping processing systems, packaging systems, the Internet, process control systems from another provider, and / or other external systems. May include one or more external system gateway nodes 7c. The external system gateway node 7c may facilitate, for example, communication between the process control system and personnel outside the process plant (eg, home personnel).

  Although FIG. 1 shows only one controller 11 with a finite number of field devices 15-22, 40-46, 48-50 communicatively connected, this is an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment. Nothing more than. Any number of controllers 11 may be included in the process control network or system 2 and any of the controllers 11 may communicate with any number of wired or wireless devices 15-22, 40-50 to provide the same in the plant 10. Can control the process of. Also, the process plant 10 may further include any number of wireless gateways 35, routers 58, access points 55, wireless protocol control communication networks 70, access points 7a, and / or gateways 7b, 7c.

  In one exemplary configuration of the process plant 10, a plurality of drones 72a, 72b equipped with individual cameras 74a, 74b and / or other sensors 76a, 76b move across the field environment of the process plant 10 to Monitor the status of. Generally, drones 72a, 72b are unmanned robot vehicles. In some embodiments, drones 72a, 72b are airborne drones (eg, unmanned aerial vehicles or "UAVs"), while in other embodiments, drones 72a, 72b may be ground or surface drones, or airborne drones. It is a drone that has some combination of ground and / or water functions. On-board computing devices 78a, 78b associated with drones 72a, 72b control movement of drones 72a, 72b through the field environment of process plant 10. Further, the on-board computing devices 78a, 78b interface with the cameras 74a, 74b and / or other sensors 76a, 76b, eg, via the network 70, the user interface device 8, controller 11, server 12 and / or Or communicate with one or more databases. For example, on-board computing devices 78a, 78b may receive drone commands from user interface device 8 and / or server 12 or may access drone commands stored in one or more databases. As another example, the on-board computing devices 78a, 78b may transfer the data captured by the cameras 74a, 74b and / or other sensors 76a, 76b to the UI device 8, controller 11, server 12, and / or any other. Can be transmitted to any suitable computing device. In response, the user interface device 8 displays to the operator the data captured by the cameras 74a, 74b and / or other sensors 76a, 76b.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example onboard computing device 78 (eg, onboard computing devices 78 a, 78 b) associated with example drone 72 (eg, drone 72 a, 72 b) and example UI device 8. The device 78 may be utilized with embodiments of systems for monitoring the status of a process plant using the drone described herein. As shown in FIG. 2, example drone 72 is equipped with one or more cameras 74 (which may include infrared cameras), one or more other sensors 76, and an on-board computing device 78. It The camera 74, the sensor 76, and the on-board computing device 78 may be attached to the drone 72, contained within the drone 72, carried by the drone 72, or otherwise associated with the drone 72. Sensors 76 may include, for example, position sensors, temperature sensors, flame sensors, gas sensors, wind sensors, accelerometers, motion sensors, and / or other suitable sensors. In some embodiments, drone 72 is further equipped with additional accessories such as, for example, lights, speakers, microphones, and the like. Further, in some embodiments, a device for taking a sample, a set of medical equipment, a respiratory device, a defibrillator unit, etc., is carried by the drone 72, which is attached to the drone 72 and is contained within the drone 72. , Or otherwise associated with the drone 72. The drone 72 may also be outfitted with additional mechanical components to perform various actions within the plant 10. For example, the drone 72 is equipped with a robot arm for actuating a switch or taking a sample.

  The on-board computing device 78 interfaces with the camera 74, the sensor 76, and / or additional mechanical components, receives drone path commands, controls the path of the drone 72, and is captured by the drone camera 74 and / or drone sensor 76. An application for storing and transmitting the stored data. The on-board computing device 78 generally includes one or more processors or CPUs 80, memory 82, random accessory memory (RAM) 84, input / output (I / O) circuitry 86, and local area networks, wide area networks, And / or a communication unit 88 for sending and receiving data via any other suitable network, which may be wired and / or wireless (eg, network 70). For example, on-board computing 78 may communicate with UI device 8, controller 11, server 12, and / or any other suitable computing device.

  In addition, the onboard computing device 78 includes a database 90 that stores data associated with the drone 72. For example, database 90 may store data captured by drone camera 74 and / or drone sensor 76. Further, the database 90 may store navigation data such as, for example, a map of the plant 10. The map may include one or more paths for the drone 72 to travel through the plant 10, and an indication of the location of various equipment within the plant 10. The location indications of the various plant equipment may include location indications of various vantage points near each equipment. Further, various plant equipment position indications may include indications of the position of a switch (eg, a kill switch) operated by one or more drones.

  The memory 82 further includes a control unit 92 and an operating system 94 that includes one or more drone applications 96. The control unit 94 is configured to communicate with the UI device 8, the controller 11, the server 12, and / or any other suitable computing device. For example, in some embodiments the control unit 94 controls the data captured by the drone camera 74 and / or the drone sensor 76 to the UI device 8, the controller 11, the server 12, and / or any other suitable computing. Can tell the device. Further, the control unit 94 is configured to control the movement and action of the drone 72 within the plant.

  In general, drone applications 96 running on operating system 94 may include applications that issue instructions to control unit 94 to control the movement and actions of drone 72 within the plant. In addition, drone application 96 may include an application for analyzing data captured by camera 74 and / or sensor 76, and from UI device 8, controller 11, server 12, and / or any other suitable computing device. It may include applications for sending and receiving data.

  For example, drone application 96 that issues instructions to control unit 94 to control the movement and actions of drone 72 within the plant may include a drone navigation application. In general, drone navigation applications utilize some combination of navigation data stored in database 90 and position data captured by sensors 76 to determine the current position of drone 72 within plant 10. Once the drone 72 destination is received or determined, the drone navigation application may calculate a route from the current location to the destination.

  In some embodiments, the drone 72's destination may be preconfigured and stored in the database 90. For example, the database 90 may store a route or path over which the drone 72 should travel repeatedly, or it may store a particular location at which the drone 72 should hover (eg, closest to a particular piece of equipment in the plant). Further, the database 90 may store a list of routes or destinations that the drone should travel based on various incentives or conditions within the plant 10. For example, the database 90 indicates that the drone 72 must travel to a particular location within the plant 10 or travel along a particular route based on alerts within the plant 10 or conditions of the plant. Data can be stored. For example, the database 90 may indicate a safe location for the drone 72 to move to the plant 10 or a safe route for the drone 72 to exit the plant 10 in the event of a fire, poisonous gas leak, spill, explosion, etc. Can be remembered. For example, a person within the plant 10 may leave the plant for the drone 72 during these dangerous conditions. In another example, the database 90 creates a drone “fence” that protects around unsafe conditions (eg, to capture photos, videos, or other data associated with alerts or other conditions). In order to guide emergency assistance to the condition of the plant, location or route instructions near a fire, poisonous gas leak, spill, explosion, etc. may be stored. Further, for example, the database 90 may require the drone 72 to travel to a particular location or travel a particular route based on the capture of trigger sensor data (eg, sensor data indicative of plant condition). Data may be stored that indicates what to do.

  In another example, the destination of drone 72 may be based on commands received from UI device 8, controller 11, server 12, and / or any other suitable computing device (eg, operator commands). Can be selected by the navigation application. For example, the operator can select an area of the plant 10 or equipment within the plant 10 via the UI device 8, and the destination is a location stored in the database 90 for the area or equipment of the plant 10. Can be selected based on Further, the operator can select a person in the plant 10 via the UI device 8 and the destination can be based on a location associated with the person (eg, based on GPS data associated with the person. , Or based on the location associated with the person stored in the database 90). As another example, an operator may utilize a directional control device (eg, left, right, up, down, forward, backward, etc.), where the destination is directional from the drone's 72 current location. It may be selected by the navigation application based on the movement.

  In addition, the drone application 96, which issues a command to the control unit 94 to control the actions of the drone 72 in the plant, causes the drone to switch (eg, a kill switch to shut down equipment in unsafe locations such as excavation sites). Activate, perform a measurement, perform an evaluation, take a sample, present a warning (via an attached speaker system), hear a voice command (via an attached microphone), and object (eg, tool, Carry a set of medical equipment, etc. to a new location in the plant (eg a location near people), swap things as needed in various situations (eg as a “handyman”) An application may be included that issues commands to the control unit to, for example, assist people in the plant. Similar to the navigation destination, in some embodiments the actions performed by the drone 72 may be preconfigured and stored in the database 90, while in other embodiments the actions performed by the drone 72 are: Selection may be based on commands (eg, operator commands) received from the UI device 8, controller 11, server 12, and / or any other suitable computing device.

  Further, the drone application 96 for analyzing the data captured by the camera 74 and / or the sensor 76 may include, for example, overheating, fire, smoke, movement, spills (including spill size identification), droplets. , A photo from the camera 74 to automatically identify an indication of various conditions within the process plant, such as, water pool, steam, or valve condition (including identification of open or closed). It may include an image recognition application for analyzing video, or a sensor analysis application configured to analyze data from drone sensor 76, or some combination of the two. An application running on operating system 90 also determines the prevailing wind speed and direction (eg, to assist in assessing the effects of poison gas leaks) based on data from drone sensor 76. It may include a sensor analysis application. Drone application 96 for analyzing the data captured by camera 74 and / or sensor 76 may further include a surveillance application. For example, the monitoring application may analyze facial features of people in the plant to identify unauthorized persons in the plant. As another example, a monitoring application may analyze data captured by motion sensors to determine if an unauthorized person is moving through the plant. In addition, the surveillance application may analyze photos or videos captured by the drone camera 74 to identify evidence of unauthorized entry into the process plant, such as a damaged fence or broken door.

  Additionally or alternatively, the drone application 96 allows the drone 72 to communicate with other locations in the plant to enable communication in locations without a ready communications system or in locations that have temporarily lost communication capabilities. It may include applications that interact with drones to form field meshes and / or wireless backhauls. Additionally, applications running on operating system 90 may include GPS applications that cause drone 72 to transmit GPS information to other drones or to receive GPS information from a master drone to create a local transitory GPS system. .

  Returning to the UI device 8, the device 8 may be a desktop computer such as a conventional operator workstation, a control room display, or a laptop computer, tablet computer, mobile device smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wearable device. It may be a mobile computing device such as a computing device, or any other suitable client computing device. The UI device 8 is configured to create, generate and / or edit various display view definitions or configurations, as well as to create, generate and / or edit various display view element definitions or configurations. A graphical display configuration application utilized by a configuration engineer in the environment may be executed. The UI device 8 may also execute operator applications utilized by the operator to monitor, observe, and respond to various conditions and states of processes within the operating environment. The UI device 8 may include a display 98. Further, the UI device 8 may include one or more processors or CPUs 100, memory 102, random accessory memory (RAM) 104, input / output (I / O) circuits 105, and local area networks, wide area networks, and / or Or communication unit 106 for sending and receiving data via any other suitable network, which may be wired and / or wireless (eg, network 70). UI device 8 may communicate with controller 11, server 12, drone-based computing device 78, and / or any other suitable computing device.

  The memory 102 communicates with the operating system 108, applications running on the operating system 108, such as graphical display configuration applications and operator applications, the display 98, and the controller 11 to control the online operation of the process plant. And a control unit 110 for In some embodiments, the server 12 may transmit the graphical representation of the portion of the process plant to the UI device 8, and the control unit 110 may then present the graphical representation of the portion of the process plant on the display 98. Further, the control unit 110 obtains user input from the I / O circuit 105, such as user input from an operator or configuration engineer (also referred to herein as a user), and outputs the user input in a particular language. Translated into a request to present a graphic display view, a request to include a graphic showing a particular control element within an Active Minitor or Watch window contained in the display view, a request to display the adjustment of a process parameter contained in one of the process sections, etc. You can

In some embodiments, the control unit 110 may generate the request UI and communicate the translated user input to the server 12, which may transmit the request UI to the UI device 8 for display.
In other embodiments, control unit 110 may generate a new UI based on the translated user input and present the new UI on display 98 of UI device 8. If the translated user input is a request to display an adjustment of a process parameter contained in one of the process sections, the control unit 110 adjusts the process parameter value on the display 98 according to the user input from the operator to determine whether the process parameter has been adjusted. The controller 11 may be commanded to adjust the process parameters of In another embodiment, the control unit 110 communicates the translated user input to the server 12, which may generate adjusted process parameter values and transfer the adjusted process parameter values to the UI device 8 for display. The controller 11 may be commanded to adjust process parameters within the plant.

  Referring now to FIG. 3, an example user interface display view 200 of an operator application for monitoring the status of a process plant using a drone (eg, drones 72, 72a, 72b) according to one embodiment is shown. It is shown. The exemplary user interface display view 200 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed via the display 92 of the user interface 8. The user interface display view 200 includes a process plant overview 202 displayed side by side with live video feeds 204, 206 and drone controller sets 207 associated with the first and second drones. Although FIG. 3 shows two drone video feeds, various embodiments may display live video feeds associated with more or less drones. Further, in some embodiments, user interface display view 200 includes a display associated with sensor data captured by sensors associated with drones in the process plant.

  In general, the process plant overview 202 shows a representation of the physical location of various equipment within the plant and of various drones within the process plant relative to the equipment. For example, drone 1 (208) is depicted near device 210. As another example, drone 2 (212) is depicted near device 214 and drone 3 (216) is depicted near device 218. Thus, the live video feed 204 associated with drone 1 represents a live video feed showing the current status of device 210. Similarly, the live video feed 206 associated with drone 2 shows a live hood of video showing the current status of device 214. In one example, when an operator selects a drone (eg, using cursor 220), a live feed associated with that drone is displayed. For example, when the operator selects drone 3 (216), the live video feed associated with drone 3 is displayed, showing the live food of the current status of device 218.

  In some embodiments, the drone travels along a path within the process plant. In another embodiment, the drone is fully controlled by the operator. In yet another embodiment, the drone generally travels along a path within the process plant until the operator takes action to control the path of the drone. In one example, the operator uses drone controller 207 to manually control the physical movement of each drone within the process plant. For example, an operator can use various drone controls 207 to physically raise or lower the drone, rotate it, move it forward and backward, and the like. Thus, the drone may be moved within the process plant to obtain a closer view of the various equipment within the process plant so that the operator may not be able to access the user interface device 8 (i.e., do not enter the field environment). In addition, the condition inside the plant can be inspected.

  In another example, the operator may select a depiction 208, 212, 216 of each drone within the process plant overview 202, or select an area within the process plant overview 202 where the drone needs to be deployed. By controlling the physical movement of the drone in the process plant. In one embodiment, when the operator selects a drone (eg, using cursor 220), clicks it and drags it to a new location, the drone is configured to physically move to the new location. To be done. For example, an aerial drone may automatically take off and fly on a predetermined safe route to a hovering point associated with the selected location. In another example, if an operator selects (eg, using cursor 220) an area of process plant overview 202 (and / or equipment shown within process plant overview 202) in which the drone is not currently located. , The drone is configured to physically move to that area of the process plant. Thus, the operator can view a live video feed of selected areas of the process plant as the drone arrives at its destination.

  In one example, an operator selects a drone within the overview 202 of the process plant to move the drone from its current location to a safe location (which may be selected by the operator or may be predetermined). For example, if a person is confined to an unsafe location within a process plant, the operator can select a drone near him to move from his current location to a safe location, and You can follow the drone to the place. In another example, an operator selects a drone within the process plant overview 202 and moves the drone from a process plant entrance to a particular area of the process plant. For example, if an emergency occurs in the plant, paramedics can follow the drone from the entrance of the plant to the area of the plant associated with the emergency.

  Further, in one embodiment, the operator selects a drone or area within the process plant overview 202 to cause the drone to perform other tasks within the plant. For example, a drone may be configured to alert a person of a hazard within a process plant, for example, by alerting by broadcast or by marking around an unsafe area. For example, an operator can select an unsafe area in overview 202, move the drone to that area, and have the drone alert a person to the danger of that area. In addition, in some cases, the operator may choose a drone to carry the medical kit, respiratory apparatus, or defibrillator unit to a person confined to an unsafe area of the plant. In addition, the operator actuates switches within the plant (including kill switches that shut down equipment in unsafe locations such as excavation sites) to perform measurements within the plant and / or to take product samples from within the plant. You can choose a drone.

  Referring to FIG. 4, a flow diagram 400 of an example method for monitoring the status of a process plant using an unmanned robotic vehicle is shown, according to some embodiments. For example, the memory 82 of the onboard computing device 78 of the unmanned robot vehicle 72 and / or the memory 102 of the user interface device 8 may, when executed by the processor 80 or processor 100, unmanned robot vehicle 72 and / or the user. Each interface device 8 may store instructions that cause it to perform at least a portion of method 400. In embodiments, method 400 may include additional, fewer, and / or alternative actions.

  At block 402, the user interface device 8 may receive an indication of user selection of equipment within the overview of the process plant displayed by the user interface device 8 that needs to deploy the unmanned robotic vehicle 72. For example, an overview of a process plant may show a representation of the physical location of various equipment within the process plant. In some examples, displaying the overview of the process plant may include displaying a representation of the physical location of the unmanned robotic vehicle within the process plant relative to the equipment within the process plant.

  At block 404, the user-selected instruction may be transmitted to the on-board computing device 78 associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle 72.

  At block 406, the destination of the unmanned robotic vehicle 72 within the process plant may be determined based on the user-selected instructions. In some embodiments, determining the destination of the unmanned robotic vehicle in the process plant may include determining a safe hovering point near the physical location of the equipment selected by the user.

  At block 408, the unmanned robotic vehicle 72 may be controlled to move from its current location within the process plant to a destination within the process plant. For example, in some embodiments controlling the unmanned robotic vehicle 72 to travel from the current location to the destination identifies a safe route from the current location within the process plant to the destination within the process plant. The steps may include controlling the unmanned robotic vehicle 72 to travel from a current location within the process plant to a destination within the process plant through a safe route.

  At block 410, camera data may be captured by one or more cameras of the unmanned robotic vehicle 72. In some examples, the camera data may include a live video feed. In some examples, the camera data may include infrared camera data captured by one or more infrared cameras of unmanned robotic vehicle 72.

  At block 412, the camera data may be transmitted to the user interface device 8.

  At block 414, the camera data may be displayed alongside the process plant overview. In some examples, displaying the camera data side-by-side with the process plant overview can include displaying a live video feed based on the camera data aligned with the process plant overview.

  In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises capturing sensor data by one or a sensor of the unmanned robotic vehicle, transmitting the sensor data to a user interface device, and / or the sensor by the user interface device. It may include the step of displaying the data (not shown in FIG. 4). Capturing sensor data by one or more sensors of the unmanned robot vehicle comprises one or more of a position sensor, temperature sensor, flame sensor, gas sensor, wind sensor, accelerometer, and / or motion sensor of the unmanned robot vehicle. The step of capturing sensor data from a plurality of sensors may be included. The method 400 may also further include analyzing camera data and / or sensor data to identify an indication of conditions within the process plant. For example, the condition can be an overheat condition, a fire condition, a smoke condition, a leak condition, a steam condition, a pool or drip water condition, a valve condition, a motion condition within the process plant, and the like.

  Further, in some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises receiving a user-selected indication of a switch in the process plant that needs to be activated by the unmanned robotic vehicle, and actuating the switch in the process plant. Controlling the robot arm of the unmanned robot vehicle.

  Further, in some embodiments, method 400 may further include controlling a robot arm of the unmanned robotic vehicle to take a sample in the process plant.

  The following additional considerations also apply to the above description. Actions described throughout this specification as performed by any device or routine generally refer to processor actions or processes that manipulate or transform data in accordance with machine-readable instructions. Machine-readable instructions may be stored in and retrieved from a memory device communicatively coupled to the processor. That is, the methods described herein may be embodied by a set of machine-executable instructions stored in a computer-readable medium (ie, a memory device), as shown in FIG. The instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a corresponding device (eg, server, user interface device, etc.) cause the processor to perform the method. When referred to herein, instructions, routines, modules, processes, services, programs, and / or applications, which are stored or stored in a computer-readable memory or medium, are "stored." The words "and" are preserved shall exclude transitory signals.

  Also, the terms “operator,” “personnel,” “person,” “user,” “technician,” and other terms may use the systems, devices, and methods described herein, or Although used to indicate a person within a process plant environment with whom they may interact, these terms are not intended to be limiting. Wherever a particular term is used in this specification, the term may be related to that particular activity, although it is used in part because it is a conventional activity involving plant personnel. It is not limited to certain personnel.

  Furthermore, multiple instances may implement components, acts, or structures that are described as one instance throughout this specification. Although the individual acts of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate acts, one or more of the individual acts may be performed concurrently and the acts may be performed in the order shown. Does not need to be done. Structures and functions shown as separate components in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality depicted as a single component may be implemented as separate components. The above and other variations, modifications, additions and improvements are within the scope of the present specification.

  Any of the applications, services, and engines described herein, when implemented in software, may include magnetic disks, laser disks, solid state memory devices, molecular memory storage, or other storage. It may be stored in any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memory, such as a medium, RAM or ROM of a computer or processor, etc. Although the example systems disclosed herein are disclosed to include software and / or firmware executing on hardware, among other components, such systems are merely examples. Note that this should not be considered limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of these hardware, software, and firmware components may be embodied only in hardware, only in software, or in any combination of hardware and software. . Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the provided embodiment is not the only way to implement such a system.

Accordingly, while the present invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments that are illustrative only and not limiting of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes, additions or deletions may be made to the described embodiments. Moreover, while the above provides a detailed description of a number of different embodiments, the detailed description should be construed as merely an example, and it is not possible to describe all possible embodiments. Not all possible embodiments have been described as they are difficult to realize if not stated. Numerous alternatives are feasible using current technology or technology developed after the filing date of the present application.

Claims (29)

Receiving, by a user interface device, an instruction for user selection of equipment within the overview of a process plant displayed by said user interface device that requires the deployment of an unmanned robotic vehicle, said process plant comprising: Said overview showing said representation of the physical location of various equipment within said process plant;
Transmitting, by the user interface device, the indication of the user selection to an onboard computing device associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle;
Determining a destination of the unmanned robot vehicle in the process plant based on the user-selected instruction by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robot vehicle;
Controlling the unmanned robot vehicle to move from a current location in the process plant to the destination in the process plant by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robot vehicle;
Capturing camera data by one or more cameras of the unmanned robot vehicle;
Transmitting the camera data to the user interface device by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle;
Displaying the camera data alongside the overview in the process plant by the user interface device.   The method of claim 1, wherein determining the destination of the unmanned robotic vehicle in the process plant comprises determining a safe hovering point near a physical location of the equipment selected by the user. the method of. Controlling the unmanned robot vehicle to move from the current position to the destination,
Identifying a safe route from the current location within the process plant to the destination within the process plant by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle;
Controlling the unmanned robotic vehicle by the on-board computing device to travel through the secure route from the current location within the process plant to the destination within the process plant. The method according to 1.   The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the camera data alongside the overview of the process plant comprises displaying a live video feed based on the camera data alongside the overview of the process plant. .   The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the user interface device, a representation of a physical location of the unmanned robotic vehicle in the process plant with respect to the equipment in the overview of the process plant.   The method of claim 1, wherein capturing camera data with one or more cameras of the unmanned robotic vehicle comprises capturing infrared camera data with one or more infrared camera data of the unmanned robotic vehicle. Capturing sensor data by one or more sensors of the unmanned robotic vehicle;
Transmitting the sensor data to the user interface device by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robotic vehicle;
The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the sensor data by the user interface device.   The step of capturing sensor data by one or more sensors of the unmanned robot vehicle comprises one of a position sensor, a temperature sensor, a flame sensor, a gas sensor, a wind sensor, an accelerometer, and / or a motion sensor of the unmanned robot vehicle. The method of claim 7, including the step of capturing sensor data from one or more sensors.   8. The method of claim 7, further comprising analyzing the camera data and / or the sensor data to identify an indication of a condition in the process plant by the on-board computing device associated with the unmanned robot vehicle. The method described.   The condition may be one or more of overheated, fired, smoked, leaked, steamed, pooled or drip, valved, or in motion within the process plant. The method of claim 8, wherein the method is: Receiving, by a user interface device, user-selected instructions for switches in the process plant that need to be actuated by the unmanned robotic vehicle;
Controlling the robot arm of the unmanned robotic vehicle by the on-board computing device to actuate the switch in the process plant.   The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling, by the on-board computing device, a robot arm of the unmanned robot vehicle to take a sample in the process plant. A user interface device configured to communicate with an unmanned robotic vehicle equipped with one or more cameras, comprising:
Display,
One or more processors,
One or more memories, wherein the user interface device, when executed by the one or more processors, comprises:
Receiving data captured by the one or more cameras of the unmanned robotic vehicle from an onboard computing device of the unmanned robotic vehicle,
Aligning with the data captured by the one or more cameras of the unmanned robotic vehicle to display an overview of the process plant showing a representation of the physical location of various equipment within the process plant,
Receiving a user selection of equipment within the overview of the process plant that needs to deploy the unmanned robotic vehicle,
A memory storing a set of computer-executable instructions for transmitting to the on-board computing device a command indicating the selected equipment within the overview of the process plant in which the unmanned robot vehicle needs to be deployed. , User interface devices.   The instructions for causing the user interface device to display data captured by the one or more cameras of the unmanned robot vehicle display a live video feed based on the data captured by the one or more cameras. 14. The user interface device of claim 13, including instructions to:   The instructions for causing the user interface device to display the overview of the process plant are instructions for displaying a representation of a physical location of the unmanned robot vehicle within the process plant with respect to the equipment within the overview within the process plant. 14. The user interface device of claim 13, including:   14. The user interface device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the user interface device to display sensor data captured by the one or more sensors of the unmanned robotic vehicle.   The sensor data includes data captured by one or more of a position sensor, temperature sensor, flame sensor, gas sensor, wind sensor, accelerometer, and / or motion sensor of the unmanned robot vehicle. Item 16. The user interface device according to item 16. The instructions further cause the user interface device to:
Receiving user-selected instructions for switches in the process plant that need to be actuated by the unmanned robotic vehicle,
14. The user interface device of claim 13, causing a command directing selection of the switch that needs to be activated by the unmanned robotic vehicle to be transmitted to the onboard computing device of the unmanned robotic vehicle. An unmanned robot vehicle,
One or more cameras configured to capture images as the unmanned robot vehicle travels within a process plant;
One or more processors,
One or more memories, the unmanned robot vehicle, when executed by the one or more processors,
Receiving a command from a user interface device including a command to instruct equipment in the process plant that the unmanned robot vehicle needs to be deployed,
Based on the instructions of the equipment in the process plant, to determine the destination in the process plant,
Moving from the current position in the process plant to the destination in the process plant,
An unmanned robotic vehicle, comprising: a memory that causes images captured by the one or more cameras to be transmitted to the user interface device.   The instruction for causing the unmanned robot vehicle to determine the destination of the unmanned robot vehicle in the process plant based on an instruction of the equipment in the process plant is a physical instruction of the unmanned robot vehicle in the process plant. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 19, including instructions for determining a safe hovering point near a physical location. The command to move the unmanned robot vehicle from the current position to the destination is the unmanned robot vehicle,
Identifying a safe route from the current location within the process plant to the destination within the process plant,
20. The method of claim 19, including instructions for traveling through the secure route from the current location within the process plant to the destination within the process plant.   The unmanned robot vehicle according to claim 19, wherein the unmanned robot vehicle is an unmanned aerial vehicle.   20. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 19, wherein the one or more cameras include one or more infrared cameras. Further comprising one or more sensors configured to capture sensor data as the unmanned robotic vehicle moves through the process plant,
20. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the unmanned robot vehicle to transmit sensor data captured by the one or more sensors to the user interface device.   25. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 24, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more of a position sensor, a temperature sensor, a flame sensor, a gas sensor, a wind sensor, an accelerometer, and a motion sensor. . The instructions further direct the unmanned robot vehicle to:
25. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 24, having one or more of the camera data and the sensor data analyzed to identify an indication of a condition within the process plant.   The condition may be one or more of overheated, fired, smoked, leaked, steamed, pooled or drip, valved, or in motion within the process plant. 27. The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 26.   20. The method of claim 19, further comprising a robot arm configured to (i) actuate a switch in the process plant, or (ii) perform one or both of taking samples in the process plant. Unmanned robot vehicle. The instructions further direct the unmanned robot vehicle to:
Receiving user-selected instructions for switches in the process plant that need to be actuated by the unmanned robotic vehicle,
The unmanned robot vehicle of claim 19, wherein the robot arm of the unmanned robot vehicle is controlled to activate the switch in the process plant.

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