O-PAS Conformant Communication Model for IEC 61499 and IEC 61131 Interoperability

This paper proposes a model for communication of different industrial automation standards with a focus on the study of IEC 61499, including analysis of specifications and tools for development. Its predecessor (IEC 61131) was created aiming to standardize the languages for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), but new challenges in the development of industrial automation systems induced the production of new specifications.

A literature review revealed increasing academic interest in the new standard, but the industrial sphere seems reticent in its adoption compared to the widely accepted 61131. With the motivation to verify the degree of maturity of IEC 61499 as well as Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert software, the authors evaluate the interoperability of systems following different standards, including The Open Group's Open Process Automation (O-PAS) standards.

Preliminary results show that a communication layer based on the OPC Foundation's OPC UA in a 61499 environment successfully enables integration with other standards, but only for elementary data types, precluding the usage of structured variables such as O-PAS Signals. Thereby, this paper is expected to contribute to industrial automation studies with the discussion of comparing both standards and integrating them with the presented methodology.

This project has been technically and financially supported by Nova SMAR. The authors also would like to thank LAUT and LAMP laboratories at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (URFN) in Natal, Brazil, and the UniversalAutomation.org team for their assistance with licenses and training for use of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert.