DICOS: A Real-Time Distributed Industrial Control System for Embedded Applications

Abstract The Fault Tolerant Systems Group of the Technical University of Valencia hasdeveloped the DICOS system. This paper describes DICOS (Distributed Industrial COntrol System) nodes. The architecture of DICOS nodes and the error detection mechanisms used are presented. These mechanisms are based on the internal capabilities of the 16-bit microcontroller used and control flow checking and deadlines control with the aid of a second 8-bit microcontroller.