Industrial Automation Debug Message Display Over Modbus RTU Using C#

Abstract

Purpose: To debug any device needs to display debug message. Seeing the message, we can detect what is the issue in our program. The are several popular debug tools available. The popular is JTAG. This debug interface is not available to debug inside all embedded systems. Instead of it, the Researcher uses a serial debug terminal. However, it has several drawbacks. Its wire length is generally within the table. The message is displayed only in one terminal. Sometimes the connected system is damaged due to high voltage spike injection. Here we demonstrate a procedure to eliminate all the above drawbacks. Instead of a direct serial display, we recommend using a modified serial debugger like Modbus hooked debug display. It is safe, can display multiple arrays simultaneously using broadcast messages, and can transmit long-range data. We developed a terminal program in C#. We provide a sample Embedded side test program. The complete project code is available to download. 

Design/Methodology/Approach: First, we create a Graphical user interface using C# language. To display the message, we use the “Listbox” control. We added a timer control to fetch the data availability. The timer interval is one millisecond by default. Within this time, it checks whether any data is reached. When the message/data arrives, it starts parsing. At first, it reads the Device ID. If the device ID matches, then it checks the CRC. If CRC is valid, it extracts the data from the received packets and displays it inside the list box.

Findings/Result: Various tools are needed to resolve the issue when we debug the system. We connect the debugger and try to uncover the problem. Sometimes we do less concentrate on the hardware connection. So, there are chances of a wrong connection. Further, it can lead to the cause for damage to our PC/laptop. Here is our approach to minimize the damage which is unintentionally created. We isolate the PC/Laptop from the debugging system. It is safe and reliable. The researchers, new to embedded system debugging, can get information on where they can safely debug by creating an isolated environment.

Originality/Value: This work provides some efficient view to debug message display using Modbus. It has several advantages over a simple serial debug interface. It can be long-range. The same message can be displayed in multiple terminals for team debugs season. The Researcher working with various team members on the same project can be viewed effectively. The new Researcher can be found some good reference information from this work.

Paper Type: Experimental-based Research.