Evolution potentials for fieldbus systems

Although fieldbus systems are meanwhile an established concept, there is still room for future developments. Furthermore, fieldbusses are more and more to be seen in a wider context of complex systems. In this paper, we briefy review the histoly of fieldbusses to highlight the major infuences on their evolution. Essential driving forces for the future are identifed in the areas of building automation, internetworking, and microelectronics. With the availability of smarter nodes, the complexity of fieldbus installations will inevitably increase, which in turn will raise new problems. The main d$$culties will be the development of appropriate tools to support the management of networks with several hundred thousand nodes. Security of network interconnections is another upcoming problem, and the growing system complexity also requires new concepts for distributed applications, such as agent-based or holonic systems. Finally, we compare fieldbusses to biological systems to derive directions for further evolution.

[1]  Peter Palensky,et al.  The convergence of intelligent software agents and field area networks , 1999, 1999 7th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation. Proceedings ETFA '99 (Cat. No.99TH8467).

[2]  Winfried Brandt,et al.  Der Markt für Feldbussysteme in der Gebäudeautomation , 1997 .

[3]  M. Wollschlaeger.  Intranet-based management framework for industrial communication systems , 1999, 1999 7th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation. Proceedings ETFA '99 (Cat. No.99TH8467).

[4]  Udo Döbrich,et al.  ESPRIT Project NOAH — Introduction , 1999 .

[5]  F.P. Fontan,et al.  Future tendencies in factory environment radiocommunications , 1997, Proceedings 1997 IEEE International Workshop on Factory Communication Systems. WFCS'97.

[6]  M. Kunes,et al.  Applying Internet management standards to fieldbus systems , 1997, Proceedings 1997 IEEE International Workshop on Factory Communication Systems. WFCS'97.

[7]  Martin Wollschlaeger,et al.  Feldbussysteme - Historie, Eigenschaften und Entwicklungstrends , 2000, Informationstechnik Tech. Inform..

[8]  A Koestler,et al.  Ghost in the Machine , 1970 .

[9]  Wolfgang Kastner.  Jini connectivity for fieldbus systems , 2000, Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control. Held jointly with the 8th IEEE Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (Cat. No.00CH37147).

[10]  Guido H. Gürtler.  Fieldbus Standardization, the European Approach and Experiences , 1997 .

[11]  Thomas Bangemann,et al.  Integration of Fieldbus Objects into Computer-Aided Network Facility Management Systems , 1999 .

[12]  P. Pleinevaux,et al.  Time critical communication networks: field buses , 1988, IEEE Network.

[13]  P. Palensky,et al.  A closer look into Internet-fieldbus connectivity , 2000 .

[14]  Jean-Pierre Thomesse,et al.  Main Paradigms as a Basis for Current Fieldbus Concepts , 1999 .

[15]  T. Pfeifer,et al.  Ziele und Anwendungen von Feldbussystemen , 1987 .

[16]  Dietmar Dietrich,et al.  Feldbustechnik in Forschung, Entwicklung und Anwendung , 1997 .

[17]  Jean-Dominique Decotignie.  Some Future Directions in Fieldbus Research and Development , 1999 .

[18]  Christian Diedrich.  Profiles for Fieldbuses - Scope and Description Technologies , 1999 .

[19]  Jörg Hähniche,et al.  Opportunities and Problems of Wireless Fieldbus Extensions , 1999 .

[20]  P. Neumann,et al.  Integration of fieldbus systems into distributed object-oriented systems , 1997, Proceedings 1997 IEEE International Workshop on Factory Communication Systems. WFCS'97.

[21]  J. Quade.  Ein einheitliches Programmierinterface für Feldbusapplikationen , 1997 .