SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 

Control Center Technologies

 

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  image of GPS satellite control center
 

SwRI staff have worked on upgrades in the GPS Satellite control center. Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense.

 

image of SwRI control center for Metering Research Facility

 

SwRI staff have developed software process control functions for a wide variety of plant operations.

Integrating operations and processes to provide centralized control

 

For more than 20 years, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been developing software for control center applications. SwRI's extensive experience includes:

  • Process control industry

  • Manufacturing industry

  • Manned and unmanned space applications

  • Transportation applications

This cross-cutting experience allows SwRI staff to apply the lessons learned in one application domain to similar applications in other domains. SwRI staff are able to perform the following phases of development for control centers:

  • Requirements

  • Design

  • Development

  • Integration and Testing

  • Deployment

  • Independent Verification and Validation

In addition to integrating devices within a single facility, SwRI has developed standards-based, center-to-center communications capabilities to provide a regional view of multiple centers. Project experience includes:

  • Lubricant production facilities

      image of pipeline in SwRI Metering Research Facility
     

    SwRI staff have developed command/control software for pipeline and lubricant production facilities.

     

    image of SwRI staff have assisted NASA with the upgrade from mainframe technology to distributed workstation technology.

     

    SwRI staff have assisted NASA with the upgrade from mainframe technology to distributed workstation technology. Image courtesy of NASA.

     

    image of SwRI staff have developed transportation management software that is deployed across the states of Texas and Florida.

     

    SwRI staff have developed transportation management software that is deployed across the states of Texas and Florida.

  • Oil refineries

  • Automotive manufacturing

  • NASA control centers

  • Transportation control centers

  • Air Force GPS control center

The ownership of software developed by SwRI for these centers typically remains the property of the organization that paid for the development. This allows the owning organization to deploy the software as many times as desired without paying any type of licensing fees. SwRI-developed software is deployed in the following centers:

  • Texas Transportation Management Centers:

    • Austin

    • Dallas

    • Fort Worth

    • Houston

    • San Antonio

    • Lubbock

    • Amarillo

    • Corpus Christi

  • Florida Transportation Management Centers:

    • Fort Lauderdale

    • Fort Myers

    • Jacksonville

    • Miami

    • Orlando

    • Tallahassee

    • Tampa

  • Toll Facilities:

    • Miami Dade Expressway

    • Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority

For more information about control center technologies capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Steve Dellenback, Ph.D., PMP, at sdellenback@swri.org or (210) 522-3914.

 

Contact Information

Steve Dellenback, Ph.D., PMP

Control Center Technologies

(210) 522-3914

sdellenback@swri.org

Related Terminology

control center software

control center technologies

software process control

manned space applications

transportation applications

center-to-center communications

| Intelligent Systems Department | Automation and Data Systems Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions.

June 18, 2009