HIGH-SPEED INDUSTRIAL REAL-TIME NETWORK OF CYBERPHYSICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

The construction of a high-speed industrial real-time network based on FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) for the control of machines and industrial robots is considered. A brief comparative analysis of the performance of the implemented Ethernet-based Protocol with industrial protocols of other leading manufacturers is made. The aim of the research and development of its own industrial automation Protocol was to reduce the dependence on third-party real-time protocols based on Ethernet for controlling robots, machines and technological equipment. In the course of the study, the requirements for the network of the motion control system of industrial equipment were analyzed. In order to synchronize different network nodes and provide short exchange cycle time, an industrial managed switch was developed, as well as a specialized hardware controller for processing Ethernet packets for end devices, presented as a IP-core. A key feature of the developed industrial network is that the data transmission in it is completely determined, and the exchange cycle time for each of the network devices can be configured individually. High efficiency and performance of implemented network devices became possible due to the use of hardware solutions based on FPGAs. All solutions described in the article as part of a modular digital system have been successfully tested in the control of machines and industrial robot. The results of field tests show that the use of FPGAs and soft processors with specialized peripheral IP-blocks can significantly reduce the tact of managing industrial equipment through the use of hardware computing structures, which indicates the promise of the proposed approach for solving industrial automation tasks.