Towards automated visualization for distributed automation applications

This paper presents a visualization architecture to facilitate automated design for distributed automation applications. CAD is used as a source of software models as it was found to provide detailed physical information, particularly for visualization. The approach assumes a fully distributed control architecture, with each system component functionally encapsulated into IEC 61499 Function Block. A baggage handling system is used as a running example throughout this work. Simulation models of the plant were executed in closed-loop with controllers. A corresponding 3D visualization was generated and parameterized based on CAD drawing, then linked to the simulation for a live view of the plant model.