Siemens teams with university to develop SCADA in the cloud

Siemens teams with university to develop SCADA in the cloud
RMIT University, Melbourne

An Australian technology university and Siemens are exploring ways for utility and transportation companies to run supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems in the cloud.

The Cyberspace and Security Group of RMIT University, based in Melbourne, has signed a contract with Siemens for the research project, which has already begun.

The project, managed by Zahir Tari from RMIT’s School of Computer Science and IT, aims to find a better method to port the footpath of SCADA into the cloud and guaranteeing all the requirements of SCADA.

Professor Tari said big corporations were moving a lot of their applications, including SCADA systems, into the cloud. However, he said the challenge is “how to build a reliable SCADA infrastructure within the cloud”, as reported by metering.com.

The collaborative project with Siemens will look to produce a method to port SCADA systems into the cloud and then software to automate the process.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Cyberspace and Security Group has one-year to deliver a path that demonstrates the feasibility of the approach and develop a prototype Siemens will be able to use itself.

“If Siemens is happy with the deliverables, then the contract stipulates that we will be  – extending to add new functionalities, such as cloud performance and cost-monitoring, porting SCADA across hybrid clouds,” Mr Tari said.

Real testing is expected to take place at the end of the project’s second year, with deployment likely in the third year.

“Siemens showed clear interest to fund other Cyberspace and Security Group projects, however, the team needs first to deliver the required outputs for this current project,” Mr Tari said.

Previous articleMapping out the best uses for energy networks
Next articleEmissions intensity rising fully offset by reduced generation