Abstract:

During the development of a process or industrial activity, it is essential to have information of the critical variables of the process to know the current state of the system. Monitoring/supervision systems are responsible for collecting such information and presenting it to the user, usually through Graphical User interfaces (GUI) [1]. These interfaces provide the user with visual support to understand the system status and its evaluation. For this reason, interfaces have become a necessary complement in monitoring/supervision systems so, from an academic and practical point of view, it is very beneficial to know how they work and how they are designed.

In this context, the widely known MATLAB environment offers the user a toolbox oriented to the design and development of GUI called AppDesigner [2]. This application provides the main components of an industrial monitoring/supervision system, such as input/output fields, graphics or buttons [3]. This tool is divided into two tabs, one for the design of the graphical aspect and the other for the programming of the components that make up the GUI. The function performed by the components are programmed by means of scrips in MATLAB language. This feature gives the GUI great versatility, limiting the functions it can perform to the limitations of the programming language.

As part of MATLAB, AppDesigner can interact with other MATLAB environments and toolboxes, such as Simulink or OPC toolbox. It must be noted that handling communication protocols is a requirement for data sharing with industrial automation devices like programmable controllers [4]. It is also possible to communicate with external programs such as Excel to perform different functions e.g., data exchange.

Due to the characteristics indicated above and the wide use of MATLAB in the academic field, in this contribution the utilization of this application as an educational tool for teaching monitoring/supervision systems in industrial environments is studied.

References:
[1] A.J. Calderón; I. González; M. Calderón; F. Segura; J.M. Andújar, “A New, Scalable and Low Cost Multi-Channel Monitoring System for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells.” Sensors, vol.16, 349, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16030349
[2] https://mathworks.com/products/matlab/app-designer.html
[3] F.J. Maseda; I. López.; I. Martija; P. Alkorta; A.J. Garrido; I. Garrido, ”Sensors Data Analysis in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems to Foresee Failures with an Undetermined Origin.” Sensors, vol. 21, 2762, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082762
[4] I. González; A.J. Calderón; J. Figueiredo; J.M.C. Sousa. “A Literature Survey on Open Platform Communications (OPC) Applied to Advanced Industrial Environments.” Electronics, vol. 8, 510, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8050510

Keywords:

Monitoring, Supervision, Graphical User Interface, Matlab.