zenon Science Package

[pepijndevos]

Has anyone tried the zenon Science Package? Is it any good?

http://www.copadata.com/index.php?id=1838

I actually did request the DVD, but it's Windows-only, comes with a custom firmware, and installs some other MS products first. I couldn't get it to do anything useful so far, but I've not tried very hard.

The interesting part is that it's supposedly a real-life industry tested environment, that can be used with 5 different languages, both textual and graphical.

[mightor]

I am still waiting for my CD to land in the mail

- Xander

[mightor]

I cleaned up all of the troll-y, irrelevant posts in this thread.

- Xander

[HaWe]

(is "still waiting for my CD" relevant?)
;)

so is it possible to use NXC with this zenon Science Package?

[mightor]

so is it possible to use NXC with this zenon Science Package?

No, it's not. It requires a special firmware to be flashed onto the brick. Edit: I would be very surprised if it uses the standard firmware as a base.

From the web page:

We have made a straton firmware, especially for LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0. With this in place you can both program your LEGO Mindstorms NXT creation to do what you want, as well as visualize and analyze what it has been doing.

- Xander

[spillerrec]

When looking at the video on the website it does look like it is just a modified stock firmware. The menu system and top bar looks exactly like the standard firmware, except that it has a custom splash screen and custom menu items which even uses the standard firmware icons...
From what I'm seeing so far I'm not impressed considering how amazing they are trying to make it sound...

EDIT: but doc, I doubt it is supposed to be used together with NXC nevertheless...

[mightor]

According to this: http://www.copadata.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602

No, the straton firmware can only run with straton programs.

So that probably means no NXT-G/NXC.

- Xander

[HaWe]

Thanks, guys!

[olovemas]

Hi all,

Since I work at COPA-DATA I thought I’ll try to bring some light into the subject. I’ll try not to make it too commercial.

What we at COPA-DATA have done is that we have ported out PLC software into the LEGO NXT platform. PLCs are used in industrial automation, electricity grids, substations, machines and a lot of other applications. The straton software is standard 61131-3 software used in a wide range of hardware. That means that is uses the IEC standard programming interfaces, Ladder Diagram, Function Block Diagram, Structured Text, Instruction List and Sequential Function Chart.

You'll find the straton software in products from Mitsubishi, WAGO, Brodersen and a lot of other hardware on the market.

The zenon software is a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) used for visualization and control of data acquired from ex PLCs or other devices within industrial automation. Since both straton and zenon share the same database you will basically get a fully integrated automation toolset.

That said; it also means that it’s not really a toy for young kids to play around with. We developed this because the hardware normally used for industrial automation is really expensive. A standard Siemens or Allen-Bradley PLC range from 2 000$ to 10 000$. The Mindstorm platform, as you know, costs a fraction of that amount. So this is really a way of getting industrial automation more public and affordable for education and pleasure. Which is truly needed, the industries are desperately looking for people who know automation.

So, who uses the software? Well, for instance BMW has standardized on the zenon platform. Basically all European car manufactures use it to some extent. It’s widely used within Food & Beverage, Pharma and within substation automation. If you have a LG LED TV set it’s most likely to have been manufactured using zenon. Part of your electrical grid and substations are controlled by straton using the IEC 61850 protocol or the DNP3 protocol.

I’m sorry for the delay if you have ordered the software and not received it yet. If you still haven’t got it please feel free to email me at [email protected] and I’ll make sure you get it.

PLC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmab ... controller
61131-3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_61131-3
SCADA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCADA
Automation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation

[mightor]

Hi olovemas,

Thank you for taking the time to explain a little bit about the zenon Science Package, I think it clears up a lot of the confusion as to what its purpose is and what it can do It was not too commercial, in case you were worried!

Folks, there is also a forum on the COPA-DATA website that is dedicated to this stuff, so if you'd like, you can also ask there: [LINK].

Regards,
Xander