FPGA implementation of PLC programs using automated high-level synthesis tools

Although the performance of traditional PLC technology is adequate for the majority of industrial automation and control tasks, there exist a number of demanding applications, which need more powerful alternatives. One such alternative, which has received considerable research interest in recent years, is the implementation of control algorithms on FPGAs. An inherent difficulty of this approach is that it requires expertise in both industrial automation and FPGAs. In this paper we propose a fully automated design methodology for producing efficient FPGA implementations of PLC programs. The PLC programs can be prepared by automation experts using their familiar programming environments and the conversion to FPGA is done by automated high-level synthesis tools. The advantages of this approach are demonstrated on a number of standard industrial control applications.