Virtual controllers promise flexibility and resource efficiency, but place clear demands on system design. Learn about the role played by Linux, Preempt RT, container engines, and package managers, and what machine and plant manufacturers should consider when selecting and operating them.

Software determines functionality in televisions, vehicles, smartphones, and increasingly industrial automation and industrial control systems. This development has led to the emergence of virtual PLCs (vPLCs). The following article describes how such control systems are implemented in practice and which application scenarios are technically feasible. 

Virtual controllers are revolutionizing the world of automation: software is taking the lead, while hardware is becoming secondary. Less wiring, more flexibility—and even SIL3 safety—are now possible with software-based solutions.

Codesys Virtual Safe Control SL brings functional safety to any standard hardware. The solution is expected to be certified for FailSafe over Ethercat (FSoE) by the end of the year.

CODESYS Virtual Safe Control SL provides a hardware-independent SIL3 safety controller that can run on standard hardware.

Terms such as openness and co-creation have long since ceased to be buzzwords and have become a reality.