Avatar PLC/SCADA: Cloud Half-Twin for Industrial Control Systems
摘要
Industry 4.0 drives the ICS and SCADA systems to utilize the cloud for its significant benefits. New models, designs, and applications of traditional ICS systems incorporate the cloud to enhance and streamline industrial processes. In this paper, we propose a novel model that utilizes avatar processes for devices in the ICS system, such as PLCs. The avatar runs on the cloud and executes PLC tasks. The avatar can perform heavy computations that were previously impossible, especially for legacy devices standard in these systems. We also describe a security architecture for our system that thwarts cybersecurity threats that may arise from attackers on the cloud. Furthermore, we introduce a new decentralized architecture that combines blockchain with avatars to secure our ecosystem. In total, our system enhances the industrial process and enables engineers to easily incorporate complex logic into their (potentially heterogeneous and legacy) systems.