Beckhoff Automation: PC-based Control Software Gets Object-Oriented Extensions

TwinCAT 3 with the eXtended Automation Architecture (XAA) also integrates Matlab/Simulink software to facilitate a connection to scientific fields. Software modules can run in different languages within a common runtime environment, allowing the improved reuse of modules once they have been written and tested. The runtime environment operates under demanding real-time conditions with the use of multi-core technology and the support of 32-bit or, in the near future, 64-bit operating systems, according to the company. The eXtended Automation Engineering environment (XAE) in TwinCAT 3 is essentially the widely used Microsoft Visual Studio platform, implemented in one of two ways based on user preference.