Search GlobalSpec for pneumatic controls. There's plenty of stuff out there.

Start by writing a User Specification, giving details of what determines the up and the down. Then give the Spec to a Controls Engineer.

Many of the manufactures have cylinders that have encoders that can position the cylinder exactly where you want it to be. But in automation you may only want to know whether the cylinder extended or retracted. This is done with external switches that sense the position of the swab which has been modified with magnetic ring.