Low-cost automation solutions for startups: a distributed logic control and low-cost hardware approach

Startups and SMEs often face significant challenges in adopting digital technologies and automation infrastructure due to capital constraints, underscoring the urgent need for low-cost, reliable, and scalable automation solutions. While industrial case studies have demonstrated the success of low-cost digital technologies for data collection, their adoption in control applications has received less attention. The distributed automation standard IEC 61499, with its characteristics of being distributed, hardware-agnostic, and modular, creates new opportunities for cost-effective automation solutions. This paper highlights the key features of a low-cost distributed automation system and demonstrates the feasibility of implementing reliable automation solutions for startups and SMEs by leveraging distributed automation, open-source platforms, standardized communication protocols, and affordable hardware. A case study on the implementation of a production line for integrated photovoltaic panels by an innovative startup supports the argument through a costs comparison and technical evaluation. The results indicate that low-cost automation using distributed logic control is both feasible and reliable, showing that startups and SMEs can implement robust automation systems at significantly reduced costs compared to proprietary hardware and software solutions.