Distributed Control Technology: From A Decade of Progress to an Era of New Possibilities
Robert Yeager, Emerson Process Management
ABSTRACT
Ten years ago at the 1988 ISA Power Industry Division symposium, several of papers were presented that reviewed the then state-of-the-art of developments in Distributed Control Systems (DCS) technology. At the time, those developments included the emerging trend to incorporate greater amounts of Commercial ‘Off-The-Shelf” (COTS) technology into what had traditionally been highly proprietary, vendor specific architectures. Specifically, those COTS components found in the desk top computing industry included PCs for DCS controllers and workstations, commercially available networking technology such as Ethernet and FDDI, and the incorporation of business application software such as relational database management systems and internet/intranet browser technology.
This paper will briefly review the successes and changes brought about over the last decade through the incorporation of these ‘open system’ technologies into the DCS environment, and how those technologies have grown and significantly expanded in capability over that time. We will then review the current ‘state-of-the-art’ and discuss where these new technologies will lead in the future. Included in this discussion are the many opportunities for process improvement offered by the continued expansion of processor power and speed, advanced HMI concepts that included enterprise-wide data visualization, the ability to more easily develop and maintain high fidelity training simulators, the incorporation of sophisticated embedded intelligence for on-line process optimization, and how fieldbus and emerging wireless technology will fundamentally change Distributed Control System design, development and implementation processes. |
