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arXiv · 2610.28160

From Code Generator to Engineering Companion: A Plant-aware Agent for PLC Programming

Joschka Kersting·Gesa Benndorf
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Abstract

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) coding remains a manual, IDE-centric task that demands constant context switching between documentation, project files, and code editors. Recent work has demonstrated that retrieval-augmented large language models can generate vendor-compliant Structured Text at high compilation rates \cite{pred}, yet these systems treat code generation as a one-shot pipeline: the engineer submits a query and receives code, with no persistent knowledge of the specific plant. We present a plant-aware conversational copilot that extends this paradigm in three directions: plant-specific context ingestion, a chat-first interaction model for explanation and debugging, and a graduated tool-access ladder from chat to deployment. The system is designed for real plant infrastructure and keeps the engineer in control of each step that produces real-world effects.

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Joschka Kersting, Gesa Benndorf. 2026-10-20. From Code Generator to Engineering Companion: A Plant-aware Agent for PLC Programming. https://doi.org/10.1109/etfa68377.2026.11725227

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