Building a Java Technology-Based Automation Controller: What, Why, How
TS-6735

Java technology has always been disruptive, and now it's breaking the mold in industrial, process, building, and transportation automation systems. For many years, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), the digital versions of old relay-based control systems (such as that used in the New York City subway system in the late 1800s) have primarily controlled these systems. PLCs are the workhorse of the controls industry, but the market is characterized by proprietary, closed, expensive, special-purpose solutions. A Java technology-based automation controller breaks the mold, by allowing control algorithms, which require strict real-time capabilities, to run on essentially off-the-shelf, general-purpose computers and operating systems. A Java Automation Controller (JAC) is made possible by the Java Real-Time System, an implementation of JSR 001, the Real-Time Specification for Java.

This session covers the requirements, components, and issues of a building a JAC, including hardware and real-time software: OS, networking, Java Real-Time System, and control application. Details of Sun's Java Automation Controller are covered as an example of a JAC.