Architecture of a Cloud-Based Control System Decentralised at Field Level

Conventional control systems for machine tools and manufacturing systems are often limited in their computational power, connectivity and interoperability. Cloud-based control systems are a solution that addresses these issues. Advantages of the cloud are the elasticity of computational power (Infrastructure as a Service) and a plethora of development tools (Platform as a Service). The developed solutions are based on a local control system with an additional connection to the cloud. Communication and control of the field level run centralised through this control system. To try for more flexibility, we propose an approach where individual components at the field level are directly connected to the cloud. They are equipped with computational resources, connected directly to a TCP/IP network and communicate with each other and perform control tasks. This had been made possible by ever-shrinking integrated circuits at lower prices. In this paper, a possible use scenario, hardware candidates, and firmware aspects are presented. For an initial examination, the findings were compared against requirements for cloud-based control in the application area of soft-tissue interaction. This proposed architecture will be the basis for a prototype in the future.