Virtual control of robot using soft PLC

The term ”virtual control” is a key concept that swnmarizes computerizedmanufacturing activities dealing with models and simulation instead of objects andtheir operation in the real world. It is safer, more relevant, and more cost effectivethan its physical counterpart. A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is anelectronic device used for automation of industrial processes such as control ofmachinery on factory assembly lines. The purpose of a PLC is to control a particularprocess by producing electrical control signals in response to electrical process-related input signals. A PLC is an example of a real time system since output resultsmust be produced in response to input conditions within a bounded time. A ”virtualPLC”, or soft PLC, is a software program that can replace a real PLC in controllingan automated system.Industrial robots are often used to perform various tasks such as material assembling,painting, or welding. Virtual control of a robot can be achieved by simulating therobot, the controller, or the whole system, resulting in three types of virtual control.Furthermore, control of a robotic system requires reading data from its sensors,calculating control signals based on the sensor data, and then sending these controlsignals to the corresponding actuators. Performing such control and data acquisitiontasks requires some planning since robots need much knowledge about objects andactions.The goals of this research are: 1) Mastering PLCs and their role in robot-basedindustrial automated manufacturing systems, 2) Investigating the possibleperformance gain of replacing traditional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID)controllers with PLCs, either real or virtual, in both traditional and intelligent roboticcontrol systems. To achieve the fist goal, PLC hardware and programming languages