Modeling and Control of Discrete Event and Hybrid Systems Using Petri Nets and OPC Unified Architecture

Discrete event system is a type of system, which changes its state based on asynchronously occuring events. One of many approaches of describing this category of systems is a mathematical formalism called the Petri Net. This article introduces an original software solution, leveraging the graphical representation of this formalism in conjunction with the communication standard OPC Unified Architecture. This combination enables the user to model and control discrete event and hybrid systems using an intuitive, user-friendly graphical interface. The software application also brings new possibilities into scope of this academic domain due to the implementation of a Petri Net formalism extension - continuous elements, which greatly expands the area of systems, which can be modelled and controlled using this tool. The developed software tool was successfully verified in control of a virtual systems. Offering a graphical environment for the design of discrete event / hybrid system control algorithms, it can be used for education, research and practice in cyber-physical systems (Industry 4.0).