TORERO aims at creating a total life cycle web-integrated control design architecture and methodology for distributed control systems in factory automation. The main focus lies on the development of a self-configuring, self-maintaining and automatically distributed control system. TORERO will provide the necessary means to fully exploit distributed control systems by incorporating different, distributed, non control platforms such as sensors or drives into the design process of control applications for the first time. This will allow for building a control application based on only sensors and actuators, without using a PLC (programmable logic controller). For this first of all the necessary architecture within a device and regarding a whole automation system will be defined. Second the mechanism within a device together with standard interfaces to allow for self-configuration and self-maintenance will be defined and implemented. Third a design tool to make use of this architecture will be defined and implemented. All these will be implemented prototypically and tested in a demonstrator.
Work description:
The TORERO project addresses Action Line IV-2.2. Within the project, work has been divided into nine work packages (WP) of which six are technical WPs and three are project management WPs. The technical work can be divided into four phase, each one ending in a milestone. For single devices (such as sensors or drives) an internal architecture will be defined so that different control programmes can easily be downloaded onto them and so that these programmes also easily have access to their functions by standardised interfaces. Furthermore mechanism for self-configuration and for self-maintenance via the web will be defined together with necessary plug-and-play and security functions. This also has to be seconded by an overall architecture and a methodology for designing distributed applications, which will be hosted on various small devices.
The four phases in which this will be done can be described as follows:
Phase 1: Overall system design and specification (WP 1). At the end of this phase all necessary definitions for the overall project are done. This phase consists of only one WP in order to provide a strong collaboration between the different partners.
Phase 2: The development phase, in three different WPs the single developments of interface specifications, the web enabled control design methodology and the mechanism for self-configuration and self-maintenance will be developed. Due to the amount of work it is necessary to split up the work into three independent WPs, which will be organized independently.
Phase 3: During this phase all necessary implementation will be done. This again is done in only one work package in order to ensure the seamless integration of the results of the development phase.
Phase 4: Testing of all implementations will be done at the end of the project. The three management WPs run during the entire project, continuously assessing, evaluating, disseminating the results and of course managing the project.