On the application of multimedia in control and automation

The degree of machine automation is continuously increasing, because computer technology, control software, telecommunication technology and visualization systems are also continuously improved. This makes the use of new multimedia techniques for reading, communication and presentation of machine or process data possible, even over far distances. Multimedia communication is becoming a technology of growing importance for user interfaces in automation and process control. Think of acoustic and visual data obtained from microphones or cameras applied to a certain automated system. They can be simply used and understood as a new brand of sensors or actuators that are part of a process control unit. Supervising and monitoring of certain process states is simplified, if the operator can "see" and "hear" the real process. Technical aspects concerning types, quality and speed of multimedia data communication will be discussed and especially viewed for an implementation in automated systems.