Edge Powered Industrial Control: Concept for Combining Cloud and Automation Technologies

In the past, industrial control of field devices was comprised of self-contained systems in a dedicated network for exchanging control information between field devices and control hardware to accomplish process tasks. Nowadays, cloud computing enables a massive amount of computing resources and high availability, which opens up new potentials in the industrial sector. Until now, the integration of cloud solutions in industrial control was limited due to missing technologies connecting the Internet of Things with industrial requirements. Furthermore, based on existing paradigms there is a lack of appropriate architecture concepts for industrial control. This paper depicts a platform concept, which combines cloud computing and industrial control using edge devices realized for an automation cell.