Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB
Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB

ProVis.Agent®

Starting Situation: Control Systems in production

Control systems monitor and control automated plants; in our case mostly production plants. Our focus is on manufacturing technology - although we work in the process industry, in monitoring data centers and other application areas.

Our control system is called ProVis.Agent® - we use software agent technology to communicate within the system and outside with other production-related IT applications, e.g. to exchange data between systems or to trigger other applications directly. The control of the systems, for example switching, is done according to the working time model integrated in ProVis.Agent®.

 

Forecast

The figital factory, today mainly used for planning new plants and factories, will soon extend into plant operation. The start-up and permanent improvement of plants will also involve the operating and production control systems. ProVis.Agent® is the first step on the way to digital factory operation.

 

Advantages

  • ProVis.Agent®, the first agent-based production control system - awarded by experts of the international automotive association FISITA, by an international jury of the European Manufacturing Strategies Summit and by the Harbour Report.
  • The innovative step towards connecting independent complex IT systems in automated manufacturing and assembly.
  • Proven, redundant client-server architecture with the ability to provide up to 1,000 clients with one server without additional server licenses.
  • Minimal maintenance and operating costs due to component-based architecture: from PLC signal acquisition and processing to web-based visualization and automated creation of process control images.
  • Architecture and functionalities tested in tough industrial use - at customers’ plants in the automotive and steel industries.

 

Application Example: A control and evaluation system for the Daimler plants in Wörth and Bremen.

ProVis.Agent® is the control system for controlling and monitoring all production facilities of the C-Class production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. It monitors and controls around 1,240 PLCs and 3,145 systems and supplies information to more than 1,560 users. Daimler AG also uses the system at its Wörth plant, where the body shop facilities for commercial vehicles and, currently, assembly are monitored.

In Wörth, a tracking system of truck bodies and a powerful scripting engine have also been implemented.

Since Daimler AG opened the Bremen plant, Fraunhofer IOSB has been the control technology partner in Bremen.