Improvement on control performance using FPGAs over software-based platforms

No studies about the evaluation of the performances achieved by FPGAs over software-based controllers have been reported. The main aim of this paper is to identify which of the FPGA-based or software-based soft real-time platforms is able to achieve better position tracking performance of servo-pneumatic systems. A Fuzzy Logic controller was implemented both in a Xilinx^® Virtex-II FPGA and in a soft real-time platform NI CompactRIO^®-9002. The tracking response of 20 step trajectories was analysed. The FPGA-based controller achieved up to 16 times lower steady-state errors and up to 27 times lower overshoots. These experimental results have shown performance gains associated with the use of FPGA technologies over software-based soft real-time platforms.