APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ITERATIVELY AND INTERACTIVELY PLANNING AN I/O STATION FOR AN AUTOMATION CONTROLLER

The present invention relates to an apparatus for iterative and interactive scheduling of an I/O station for an automation control system. The apparatus includes a selection device adapted to specify a selection of signals for the I/O station in the form of (i) signal data and (ii) planning data for the I/O station based on user input. The apparatus also includes a database device adapted to provide property data for a plurality of I/O devices and I/O systems and a configuration device adapted to determine, based on the signal data, the planning data, and the property data, a system configuration for the I/O station that includes at least one I/O device among the plurality of I/O devices. The configuration device is further adapted to perform a technical check of the specific construction rules of the respective I/O system of the system configuration and to change the system configuration in case of failure of the technical check. The apparatus also includes a display device adapted to display the system configuration for the I/O station.