OpenPLC: An open source alternative to automation

Abstract

Companies are always looking for ways to increase production. The elevated consumerism pushes factories to produce more in less time. Industry automation came as the solution to increase quality, production and decrease costs. Since the early 70s, PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) has dominated industrial automation by replacing the relay logic circuits. However, due to its high costs, there are many places in the world where automation is still inaccessible. This paper describes the creation of a low-cost open source PLC, comparable to those already used in industry automation, with a modular and simplified architecture and expansion capabilities. Our goal with this project is to create the first fully functional standardized open source PLC. We believe that, with enough help from the open source community, it will become a low cost solution to speed up development and industrial production in less developed countries.