INAS-Cloud: Industrial automation as a service from the cloud
01.10.2015 bis 30.09.2017
Motivation and challenges
The technical basis for the Industry 4.0 are cyber-physical systems that connect the physical world with the digital one. Machines and services are connected to form a package in such a way that integrated system solutions and complex applications are made possible.
The central challenge here is to break down the traditional automation hierarchies in order to connect the physical and digital levels end-to-end. The aim is to create flexible automation systems that can be quickly and easily maintained and reconfigured. This places high and diverse demands on the connectivity with regard to security, quality-of-service, robustness, and, scalability.
Project goal
Technical processes with distributed components are controlled by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), which in their current hardware-based design are not up to the requirements of Industry 4.0 with regard to dynamics, flexibility, and adaptability.
The "INAS Cloud" project takes the approach of making automation functionality available as a service. For this purpose, the PLC was virtualized and controls the technical processes in the form of a service, which is executed within a cloud, via a dedicated network.
