Virtual control of industrial systems

Highly automated factory systems that can be controlled virtually are no longer a dream of the future. Ethernet-based IT and production networks provide the basis for this technology.

The ability to receive e-mails and simultaneously control an industrial robot from a PC is now a reality. Thanks to tablet PCs, an employee no longer has to be sat at a fixed workstation, instead they can be located anywhere on the company site and can therefore control the production system virtually while on the move. Originally automation and information technology were based on completely different infrastructures. However strict separation has given way to a growing convergence of the two areas and integration into IP-based turnkey solutions. As companies typically use Ethernet technology to network PCs, Ethernet is also the popular choice for controlling and monitoring production and automation processes.

However, the Ethernet concept designed for PC networking is not realtime-capable, yet this is an essential requirement for automation and control purposes. All efforts towards achieving realtime Ethernet fall under the concept of Industrial Ethernet. Ethernet Powerlink, for example, is a protocol extension to the Ethernet standard according to IEEE 802.3, for transmitting realtime data in the microsecond range. The main application is the transmission of process data in automation technology and connection to programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

PLCs are key elements in automation and are important indicators of how the automation market is developing. Market research company Frost & Sullivan predicts that the European market volume for distributed control and PLCs will grow to 8.9 billion dollars by 2017. In global terms, Europe is the largest PLC market ahead of Asia, which has been rapidly catching up in recent years. Within Europe Germany is the forerunner. Following a serious slump in 2009 during the economic crisis with turnover losses of up to 25%, 2010 and 2011 have seen a rapid recovery here on a global scale. In the entire Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, market research company IMS Research expects 10% growth in the PLC sector this year.

With regard to further optimisation of factory processes, wireless data networks, video monitoring in realtime and virtual monitoring have become hot topics. In particular WLAN and Bluetooth have both become established in industrial automation. The strengths of WLAN lie in the creation of large area wireless networks with a very large number of devices, such as electric monorail systems. In contrast, Bluetooth can be used to operate various networks, such as high rack transport systems, independently of one another in a very limited amount of space.

The factory of the future will contain these wireless networks, supporting highly automated production processes, linked to company software that works via cloud. In this scenario power is supplied using energy-efficient systems, energy harvesting and renewable energy. Not forgetting intelligent security mechanisms. After all, the more integrated and complex a system is, the more prone it is to faults and malicious attacks such as Stuxnet.