Automation — Control Loops

"Create automated control loops without coding. Configure sensors, conditions, and actions visually — similar to PLC programming. Your control loops are automatically converted to LUA scripts visible in the Programs tab."

A control loop is an automated routine that reads input from sensors, applies rules, and drives outputs. For example: "read the temperature sensor → if it's above 25°C → turn on the air conditioning." Traditionally, this requires programming. Control Loops lets you build these rules visually.

The Control Loop Editor

Control Loops — the main list showing configured control loops with their status.

When you create a new control loop (New +), the editor shows two main tables:

Input Devices Table

The top table lists sensors — devices the loop reads from.

Column	Meaning
Device	The physical device name (e.g. RIO-1, Sonoff-3).
Port	Which specific port/channel on the device.
Description	A human-readable label (e.g. "Office temperature sensor").
X	The coordinate reference used in formulas — X1 for the first input, X2 for the second, etc.
Value	The current value being read from this sensor.

Output Devices Table

The bottom table lists actuators — devices the loop controls.

Column	Meaning
Device	The physical device name.
Port	Which port/channel.
Description	Human-readable label.
Y	The coordinate reference — Y1 for the first output, Y2 for the second, etc.
Value	This is where you write the formula. The formula references input coordinates (X1, X2...) and produces the output. For example: `IF(X1>25, 1, 0)` turns the output ON when the temperature (X1) exceeds 25°C.

Click Add virtual output to add more output rows.

Table Syntax Guide

New Control Loop — the editor with input fields for loop parameters and conditions.

Control Loop syntax reference — formula operators and expression examples.

On the right side of the editor, an expandable Table Syntax Guide provides reference for writing formulas. Sections include:

Arithmetic operators — +, -, *, /, % (modulo)
Mathematical functions — ABS(), MIN(), MAX(), ROUND(), etc.
Logical functions — AND(), OR(), NOT(), IF()
Conditional statements — IF(condition, true_value, false_value)
Statistical functions — AVG(), SUM(), COUNT()
Date and time functions — HOUR(), MINUTE(), WEEKDAY(), etc.

Toolbar Buttons

Button	What It Does
Timing	Set how often the loop executes (e.g. every 1 second, every 5 seconds, every minute).
Close Guide	Hide/show the Syntax Guide panel.
Devices	Add input sensors and output actuators to the tables.
Save	Save the control loop. It is automatically converted to a Lua script.
Close	Exit the editor.

After saving a control loop, go to the Programs tab — your loop appears as a Lua script that you can start, stop, and even further customise if needed.

Complete Formula Reference

The following functions and operators are available in Control Loop formulas (sourced from the official Abilis tutorial):

Mathematical Operators

Standard arithmetic: + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), ( ) (brackets for grouping).

Mathematical Functions

Function	What It Does
`ABS(value)`	Returns the number with a positive sign (absolute value).
`EVEN(value)`	Returns 1 if the number is even, 0 if odd.
`ODD(value)`	Returns 1 if the number is odd, 0 if even.
`INT(value)`	Returns the integer part, removing decimals.
`ROUND(value, decimals)`	Rounds the number to the specified decimal places.
`LOG10(value)`	Returns the base-10 logarithm.
`MOD(value)`	Returns the decimal part, removing the integer.
`RAND()`	Returns a random decimal between 0 and 1.
`RANDBETWEEN(from, to)`	Returns a random integer between the two values.
`POW(value, exponent)`	Raises the number to the exponent. Use decimals for roots (e.g. `POW(X1, 0.5)` = square root).
`SQRT(value)`	Returns the square root.

Logical Functions

Function	What It Does
`NOT(value)`	Returns true if input is false, and vice versa.
`AND(v1, v2 [, v3...])`	Returns true only if all inputs are true. Up to 10 values.
`OR(v1, v2 [, v3...])`	Returns true if any input is true. Up to 10 values.
`XOR(v1, v2)`	Returns true if exactly one input is true and the other is false.

Conditional

IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)

Example: IF(X1>25, 1, 0) → output 1 when temperature exceeds 25°, otherwise 0.

Using Past Values

You can reference a device's previous value by adding a time offset in brackets: X1(time_to_past). The time unit is determined by the interval set in the Timing section of the loop. For example, if timing is set to 5 seconds, X1(3) means "the value of X1 from 15 seconds ago" (3 × 5s).

Nesting Functions

Functions can be chained by nesting one inside another. For example, to get the average of the square root of two sensor inputs:

AVERAGE(POW(X1, 0.5), POW(X2, 0.5))

Anteklab Technical Support Email: tem@antek.it
Tel: +39 0376 16262,27

← Control Panel Programs →