Journal
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL INFORMATICS
Volume 17, Issue 5, Pages 3523-3533Publisher
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
DOI: 10.1109/TII.2020.3007764
Keywords
Automation; Programming; IEC Standards; Industries; Software; Reliability; Informatics; Automation; computer integrated manufacturing; embedded software; manufacturing automation; real-time systems
Categories
Funding
- US National Science Foundation (NSF) [CNS-1836601]
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Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are a well-established platform widely used in industrial automation, but poorly understood by researchers. This article provides an overview of the current state of practice and offers a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the dominant programming styles for PLC-based automation systems. Opportunities for improvements are identified, with proposed deterministic, distributed programming models that incorporate explicit timing, event-triggered computation, and enhanced security measures.
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are an established platform, widely used throughout industrial automation but poorly understood among researchers. This article gives an overview of the state of the practice, explaining why this settled technology persists throughout industry and presenting a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the dominant programming styles for today's PLC-based automation systems. We describe the software execution patterns that are standardized loosely in IEC 61131-3. We identify opportunities for improvements that would enable increasingly complex industrial automation applications while strengthening safety and reliability. Specifically, we propose deterministic, distributed programming models that embrace explicit timing, event-triggered computation, and improved security.
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