A Distributed Control Architecture for Advanced Testing In Realtime

Distributed control architecture is based on sharing control and data between multiple nodes on a network Communication and task sharing can be distributed between multiple control computers. Although many communication protocols exist, such as TCP/IP and UDP, they do not have the determinism that realtime control demands. Fiber-optic reflective shared memory creates the opportunity for realtime distributed control. This architecture allows control and computational tasks to be divided between multiple systems and operate in a deterministic realtime environment. One such shared memory architecture is based on Curtiss-Wright ScramNET family of fiber-optic reflective memory. MTS has built seismic and structural control software and hardware capable of utilizing ScramNET shared memory, opening up infinite possibilities in research and new capabilities in Hybrid and Model-In-The-Loop control.