20-2 Industrial Communication Systems
it.to.an.actuator.node,.and.that.actuator.node.that.actuates.on.the.process..At.least.two.feedback.
control.nodes.are.needed.to.have.a.proper.NBC.system.(as.one.of.those.nodes.can.have.two.functions,.
i.e.,.a.sensor.and.controller.node.or.a.controller.and.actuator.node)..In.both.cases,.there.is.messaging.of.
sensor.to.controller.or.controller.to.actuator.nodes..In.general,.we.should.consider.that.the.network.is.
shared.with.other.nodes,.they.being.feedback.control.or.any.other.applications..e.result.is.that.NBC.
systems.can.contain.a.large.number.of.interconnected.devices.(controllers,.actuators,.sensors).that.use.
the.network.for.interchanging.control.messages.
Feedback
.control.imposes.several.restrictions.on.the.communication.networks..e.multiple.access.
schemes.of.common.industrial.buses.serialize.the.sending.of.the.messages.through.the.shared.media..
As.a.result,.communication.delays.are.created.in.the.feedback.control.loop..Delays.inside.a.control.loop.
tend.to.instabilize.the.controlled.plant..In.addition,.packets.may.be.lost.in.a.noisy.channel,.breaking.the.
control.loop.path.and.having.also.a.possible.bad.consequence.on.the.controlled.process..is.chapter.
reviews.the.eects.on.the.control.side.of.the.communication.technology..It.also.talks.about.how.a.proper.
use.of.the.communication.channel.can.favor.the.dynamic.operation.of.the.control.loop.and.how.the.
control.law.is.to.be.adjusted.to.take.into.consideration.the.communication-imposed.constraints.
20.2 Mutual Concepts in Control and in Communications
In.a.networked.control.system.(NCS),.the.feedback.and.the.command.signals.use.a.communication.net-
work
.link..When.introducing.a.network.in.the.control.loop,.some.inconveniences.such.as.band-limited.
channels,.delays,.and.packet.dropouts.occur..Such.network.may.also.be.shared.by.other.applications,.
resulting.in.the.channel.being.inaccessible,.as.sharing.a.communication.channel.imposes.a.wait.time.
until.the.channel.is.accessible.again..From.the.point.of.view.of.control,.it.represents.an.additional.delay.
between.the.sensor.measurement.and.the.control.actuation,.resulting.in.a.potential.loss.of.control.per-
formance.
.Classical.discrete.controller.design.imposes.a.periodic.sampling.scheme,.which.also.imposes.
hard.real-time.operation..e.classical.denition.of.hard.real-time.system.is.that.the.actions.or.tasks.
shall.be.executed.within.a.hard.deadline.or.the.result.is.no.longer.valid..In.a.controlled.system,.the.
restriction.is.more.severe,.as.the.sampling.and.actuation.is.required.to.be.with.(not.within).a.prescribed.
period..As.in.many.cases.strictly.periodic.operation.cannot.be.assured,.due.to.message.loss.or.commu-
nication
.incurred.delays,.several.schemes.can.be.used.
20.3 architecture of Networked-Based Control
When.a.traditional.feedback.control.system.is.closed.via.a.communication.channel.(such.as.a.network),.
which.maybe.shared.with.other.nodes.outside.the.control.system,.then.the.control.system.is.classied.as.
an.NCS.or.NBC.system..All.denitions.found.in.literature.for.NBC.have.one.key.feature.in.common..is.
dening.feature.is.that.information.(reference.input,.plant.output,.control.input,.etc.).is.exchanged.among.
control.system.components.(sensor,.controller,.actuator,.etc.).using.a.shared network.(see.Figure.20.1).
Supervisor
Plant-1
Plant-2
Plant-m
Sensor-t
Network
Sensor-2
Sensor-1
Controller-n
Controller-2
Controller-1
FIGURE 20.1 Typical.NBC.architecture.
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC