Fieldbus: Developing a laboratory prototype for learning purposes

This paper presents a distributed control and measurement system based on the Foundation Field Bus protocol. A system's prototype is described together with some implementation details and experimental results. The system also includes interfaces for conventional measurement and control devices that are connected through 4-20 mA current loops. The proposed prototype seems to be a very suitable solution for teaching purposes since it is an open solution that can be used to integrate devices from different manufacturers, as long as the prototype is provided with the appropriate interface.