Ecostruxure Automation Expert for the casual gamer

We built a little game inside EcoStruxure Automation Expert (EAE) to show, in a single demo, how modern automation platforms blur the lines between IT and OT. The result was a touchscreen-playable demo that combined C# game logic, IEC 61499 event-driven function blocks, and HMI screen objects, all hosted and run by EAE on an industrial PC. While players had fun, they also got a look at how an open, software-centric automation platform can support everything from standard PLC logic to IT-style applications, data services, and machine learning at the edge.

Why use a game? Because building one inside an automation platform highlights features that matter in real-world environments: rich visualization, programmatic control over screen objects, event-driven logic, multi-language support, and straightforward integration with enterprise systems. It also drives home the fact that EAE is not just a PLC replacement, but an application platform where IT tools can live natively in OT environments.

Our engineers used C# inside EAE, which fits into a longer history of software development that shaped early PC games. Many games from the 80s and 90s were built in low-level, performance-oriented languages such as C, and that approach contrasts with PLC programming and SCADA systems, which grew out of relay logic and graphical control design. EAE brings both worlds together.

What EAE is, and what it isn’t

EcoStruxure Automation Expert is an automation platform, not just a PLC editor or a visualization tool. It brings control logic, application logic, and HMI development into the same software environment, which is what makes it such a natural fit for a demo like this one. At its core, EAE supports IEC 61499-based function blocks, but it also extends beyond traditional control programming by allowing C# and other software-style logic to live alongside automation code.

That is what separates EAE from a conventional PLC package. It is not limited to ladder logic or a fixed controller model, nor is it a SCADA layer on top of a process. It still handles familiar automation tasks, while supporting a broader software architecture where control, graphics, and integration can all exist in one place.

That flexibility is what made the game possible. If the application needs graphics, EAE can host them. If it doesn’t, the same platform can run without a visual layer. If the project calls for REST APIs, cloud databases, or edge machine learning, those can be part of the same environment as the control logic. And if the use case is more traditional, EAE still gives engineers the graphical programming tools they expect from the OT world.

So while EAE can perform the work of a control platform, that is only part of the picture. What makes it different is that it also creates room for software-native applications to live alongside automation, without forcing them into separate systems.

Bridging IT and OT is where EAE thrives. The platform combines IEC 61499 event-based programming blocks, state diagrams, C#, and graphical programming that fits naturally into the OT world. That combination gives you one environment where control logic and enterprise connectivity can live side by side.

Here’s what EAE brings to the table:

• IEC 61499-based event-driven function blocks and state diagrams for modular, distributed logic.
• Native support for C# and the ability to run IT-style code alongside function blocks, enabling richer application logic and UI control.
• Built-in HMI capability where screen objects can be manipulated programmatically from inside the platform.
• Flexible deployment on PLCs, network switches, VFDs, industrial PCs, servers, laptops, and more. Supports Windows and Linux-based systems.
• Native connectivity including REST APIs, cloud DB integration, edge ML options, and cross-OEM device compatibility.
• The option to run headless as a PLC. EAE can support local graphics when the application calls for them, but it does not require a visual layer when it doesn’t.

EAE brings together the best of what the OT and IT worlds developed and gives access to both feature sets natively. Features like REST API integration, software deployment on Linux hardware, and edge machine learning can live in the same platform as control logic, which is not something a traditional PLC program is built to do.

Ready, Player One

Since EAE is still a newer product, many people first encounter it at conferences like WEFTEC or AZ Water. By the time attendees reach our booth, they have usually spent hours walking the show floor and talking with strangers, so we wanted to give them something interactive and easy to enjoy. The game offered a break, as well as a hands-on look at what the platform can do.

The rules are simple. For 60 seconds, objects fall from the top of the screen, and you poke the matching pairs before they disappear. The higher you score, the faster they fall. Ultimately, our game did end up making our booth a hot spot for weary conference attendees. But did our visitors have a relaxing time? Hard to say, since they often became intensely competitive and sought to knock each other off the leaderboard.