Integration of Sensors, Controllers and Instruments Using a Novel OPC Architecture

Abstract

The interconnection between sensors, controllers and instruments through a communication network plays a vital role in the performance and effectiveness of a control system. Since its inception in the 90s, the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) protocol has provided open connectivity for monitoring and automation systems. It has been widely used in several environments such as industrial facilities, building and energy automation, engineering education and many others. This paper presents a novel OPC-based architecture to implement automation systems devoted to R&D and educational activities. The proposal is a novel conceptual framework, structured into four functional layers where the diverse components are categorized aiming to foster the systematic design and implementation of automation systems involving OPC communication. Due to the benefits of OPC, the proposed architecture provides features like open connectivity, reliability, scalability, and flexibility. Furthermore, four successful experimental applications of such an architecture, developed at the University of Extremadura (UEX), are reported. These cases are a proof of concept of the ability of this architecture to support interoperability for different domains. Namely, the automation of energy systems like a smart microgrid and photobioreactor facilities, the implementation of a network-accessible industrial laboratory and the development of an educational hardware-in-the-loop platform are described. All cases include a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to automate and control the plant behavior, which exchanges operative data (measurements and signals) with a multiplicity of sensors, instruments and supervisory systems under the structure of the novel OPC architecture. Finally, the main conclusions and open research directions are highlighted.

A survey on systems integration in the energy automation domain through OPC interface

“…Some of the key advantages of OPC utilization are: wide support from hardware and software manufacturers, open connectivity, generality, scalability, modularity, just to name a few. Refer to [20] for further information. Figure 1 portrays the basic layout of communication using OPC.…”

“…Other devices to be linked through OPC are Data Acquisition Cards (DAQs), remote Input/output units, Intelligent Electronic Device (IED), Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) readers, etc. By means of the OPC communication, the client applications access and manage the field information without need of knowledge about the physical nature of data sources [20]. For this purpose, a division into four subsections in order to classify the surveyed works attending to the nature of the energy facility has been made.…”

Performances Analysis of a SCADA Architecture for Industrial Processes

“…In turn, the applications using the specifications launched by the OPC Foundation have a unified view [13]. These specifications are the following: OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control) Data Access, OPC Alarm and Events, OPC Historical Data Access, OPC Unified Architecture, OPC .NET (previously called OPC eXpress Interface -XI) [14].…”

Integration of Sensor and Actuator Networks and the SCADA System to Promote the Migration of the Legacy Flexible Manufacturing System towards the Industry 4.0 Concept

“…As asserted in [26], an Ethernet-Based network applicable to process industries is a key feature to achieving the concept of I4.0 for the next generation control systems. Within I4.0-ready environments, the heterogeneity of hardware and software entities must be handled to achieve an interoperable and standardized framework [11]. Under this viewpoint, the introduction of Ethernet connectivity is a step forward in the standardization and interoperability handling for legacy systems.…”