GRAFCETbringtS (GRAFCET brought into targeted control System)

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander Fay
• Subject Area: Automation, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Intelligent Technical Systems, Robotics
• Term: from 2015 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 280147309

The design, implementation and maintenance of the control systems of machine and production plants is characterised as follows: (1) engineers design the control algorithms, sometimes with the help of formal description means, (2) technicians implement, commission and maintain the controll programmes. But the latter are not capable of working with the formal methods, which results in gaps between specification and implementation. These gaps increase over time and hinder a systematic development of the control programs and, thus, of the functionality of the machine or production plant.GRAFCET, defined in IEC 60848, provides a chance to overcome this situation: on the one hand, GRAFCET is easy to understand for engineers who have learnt to deal with formal methods like automata, state charts, or Petri nets. On the other hand, GRAFCET has been part of the education of apprentices and technicians, such as electricians, for about ten years now. Thus, in the future, more and more control progammers will be capable of using GRAFCET. However, a consistent method to use GRAFCET from specification to implementation and vice-versa is still missing. To develop this method is the goal of this research project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants