Comparison of the performance of PID controller on level process using programmable logic controller and embedded systems

Abstract

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are widely used in industrial control systems and control theory academia due to their functional simplicity and robust performance. This paper presents the performance comparison of a PID controller implemented with two different technologies: (i) a SIEMENS SIMATIC S7-1200 programmable logic controller and (ii) an embedded system based on RASPBERRY PI. The results show that both technologies perform similarly in terms of settling time, rise time, delay time, peak time, and steady-state error, but differ in control effort, with the PLC requiring 2.10% less effort compared to the embedded system, which exhibited a 4.32% signal overshoot. These findings demonstrate that using an embedded system is a cost-effective alternative, achieving similar results to those of a PLC.