MSc dissertation proposal 2017/2018
Objectives:
Programmable
Logic Controllers (PLCs) are the most common devices for integrating and
controlling industrial processes. PLCs work 24/7 and many applications do not
require more display than the LEDs of the PLCs. However, some applications
would benefit of extra display of data. One can consider 7-segments digital
displays, serial terminals or ethernet displays. Many commercial solutions
exist but most of them are too expensive.
The
main objectives of the work are the following:
-
Develop software for ethernet-based communication with the PLC
-
Propose one hardware device, based on a Raspberry-pi, to display PLC data
-
Propose a software solution to send human-input-data to the PLC
-
Study security issues that may arise by using the ethernet connection to the
PLC
Requirements (grades,
required courses, etc):
Interest
in development with PLCs. Interest in PLC networking and communications.
Localization:
ISR
/ IST
Observations:
Previous
works provide good starting points for the thesis. Previous works encompass Matlab to PLC MODBUS communication, PLC programming based
on Petri-nets and created hardware devices for directly interfacing to the PLC
digital inputs and outputs.
The
steps foreseen for the work are the following:
-
Run an alarm system based on the PLC, as done in [CourseIndAuto17]
-
Connect to the PLC using a PC running Matlab, with
the MODBUS TCP protocol
-
Connect to the PLC using a PC and sockets programming (C/C++)
-
Review security procedures in the ethernet connection to the PLC
-
Replace the PC by a Raspberry-pi
-
Attach a display to the Raspberry-pi, e.g. 7-segments (GPIO), display (SPI) or
LCD (15-way FPC connector).
References:
[CourseIndAuto17]
Course on Industrial Automation, MEEC / IST, 2017 / 2018
http://users.isr.ist.utl.pt/~jag/courses/api17/api1718.html
More information in:
http://isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/~jag/msc/msc_2017_2018.html