Novel Networked Remote Laboratory Architecture for Open Connectivity Based on PLC-OPC-LabVIEW-EJS Integration. Application in Remote Fuzzy Control and Sensors Data Acquisition.
In this paper the design and implementation of a network for integrating Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), the Object-Linking and Embedding for Process Control protocol (OPC) and the open-source Easy Java Simulations (EJS) package is presented. A LabVIEW interface and the Java-Internet-LabVIEW (JIL) server complete the scheme for data exchange. This configuration allows the user to remotely interact with the PLC. Such integration can be considered a novelty in scientific literature for remote control and sensor data acquisition of industrial plants. An experimental application devoted to remote laboratories is developed to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the proposed approach. The experiment to be conducted is the parameterization and supervision of a fuzzy controller of a DC servomotor. The graphical user interface has been developed with EJS and the fuzzy control is carried out by our own PLC. In fact, the distinctive features of the proposed novel network application are the integration of the OPC protocol to share information with the PLC and the application under control. The user can perform the tuning of the controller parameters online and observe in real time the effect on the servomotor behavior. The target group is engineering remote users, specifically in control- and automation-related tasks. The proposed architecture system is described and experimental results are presented.
Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation, University of Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas, s/n, Badajoz 06006, Spain. igonzp@unex.es.
Isaías
I
González
Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation, University of Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas, s/n, Badajoz 06006, Spain. ajcalde@unex.es.
Antonio José
AJ
Calderón
Department of Electronic, Computer Science and Automation Engineering, University of Huelva, Escuela Técnica Superior, Crta. Huelva-Palos de la Fra, Palos de la Fra, Huelva 21919, Spain. mjias@uhu.es.
Andrés
A
Mejías
Department of Electronic, Computer Science and Automation Engineering, University of Huelva, Escuela Técnica Superior, Crta. Huelva-Palos de la Fra, Palos de la Fra, Huelva 21919, Spain. andujar@diesia.uhu.es.
José Manuel
JM
Andújar
OPC; data acquisition; easy java simulations; fuzzy control; networked remote laboratory; programmable logic controller