Software tools for helping with the design and implementation of automation projects

The practical teaching of process automation requires laboratories equipped with a great variety of tools. The ideal configuration of a laboratory desk could be one made up of real, hardware components. Although the students will have the highest motivation with such a configuration, the cost and the lack of flexibility are fundamental drawbacks that must be solved. A balance must be achieved between real and virtual components, which will lead to a balanced cost and flexibility without decreasing the students motivation and the quality of education. This balanced solution is presented in this paper.