A simulation software for sequential control

Abstract

Finite state machines are a fundamental issue in a big number of fields in industry, such as sequential control, digital electronics, automated systems, automated reasoning etc. In our experience at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) we have found that the traditional approach of teaching the fundamentals of finite state machines through formal models is neither motivating nor allows to transmit the basic underlying principles to the student in a simple way. Bearing this in mind we have developed a simulation software prototype in C++ programming language which uses the powerful 3D graphical libraries OpenGL and the portable Window Manager (GLUT) to develop simple 3D systems for sequential control which can be visually attractive to the student.