ABSTRACT
Few developments have changed the face of automation so profoundly as the introduction of networks did. Especially, fieldbus systems-networks devised for the lowest levels of the automation hierarchy-had an enormous influence on the flexibility and performance of modern automation systems in all application areas. However, fieldbus systems were not the result of some “divine spark,” but they emerged in a continuous and often cumbersome evolution process. Today, many applications areas are unthinkable without them: factory automation, distributed process control, building and home automation, substation automation and more generally energy distribution, but also in-vehicle networking, railway applications, and avionics. All these fields heavily rely
on the availability of appropriate networks accounting for the special demands of the individual application.
