Internet in the development of off-site practicals with industrial processes

This paper presents two applications for process monitoring and control through Internet. The objective of providing students with access to these two processes through Internet is to allow them to contact actual industrial processes and, thus, overcoming traditional simulations which, in many cases, do not represent accurately the industrial reality our students will have to face during their future professional career. First, students would be able to obtain information on the behavior of the process, observe the evolution of the process variables – monitoring the manipulated and controlled variables, and setpoints – as well as allowing users to command the process (by establishing the type of input) or even, controlling it by substituting some control algorithms with others. With this philosophy in mind, a software application which allows monitoring, commanding and controlling a pilot plant (with 3 inputs and 3 outputs coupled) has been developed, similar to an industrial process. This plant is placed at the Systems Engineering and Control Department of the U.P.V.. Such application allows students (after connecting with the associated web page by means of a browser) to interact with the process, in order to become familiar with it and later perform tasks. All this online and therefore, not in situ. On the other hand, another application to control a greenhouse to grow roses in a hydroponic crop (no soil crop) has been created. The greenhouse is placed at the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias. It is possible to connect through Internet and monitor as well as remotely operate the greenhouse. The connection with the greenhouse is even more interesting because it is not a prototype but a real process.