Interfacing field device substitutes to central control terminals through interface cards

Abstract

In an integrated plant environment, it is not feasible to replace an existing field device with a different model unless the protocols are properly matched. The system complexity is a deterrent to a software modification in order to tackle the problem. A microcontroller based interface card would be an elegant solution. This card takes information from the new device and manipulates it dynamically so that the central controller can understand and vice versa. Due to the new features of microcontrollers, design and development of such cards are not intricate.