ACORN 1479 — Design Tools for Fieldbus

Abstract

Future Fieldbus based process control systems will be characterised by a large number of interconnected smart field devices. The hitherto applied centralised network design (in which the individual field devices are directly linked to the automation system) will be extended by distributed structures. As a result tomorrow’s engineering tools will need to satisfy a range of new demands.

This will also generate new customer demands as they require significantly enhanced engineering processes which can best be characterised by keywords like “device independent plant engineering”, “criteria driven device selection”, “allocation of functions to real devices as late as possible” (late distribution).

Within the framework of the EU-sponsored Brite/EuRam Project ACORN 1479 and in close collaboration with major users, prototype tools supporting the pertinent engineering methods to be used at the field level are currently being developed and tested.