ABSTRACT
The Department of Controls and Automation is part of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences of Technical University Brno, Czech Republic. The heterogeneous fieldbus backbone is built from both LonTalk and Profitbus serial communication systems. In comparison, the “centralized” gateway solution is easier and requires less development time, because of a wide choice and utilization of MS products such as Dynamic data exchange servers and linking and embedding on the market. The laboratory application of interconnected fieldbuses forms an example of how to interconnect different industrial communication buses and interfaces for purposes of interoperability of wide varieties of automation systems. Besides the academic programs, the department also conducts courses and seminars to introduce new control and communication methods to the industry. Poor energy management and control properties of the variable frequency controller installed in the laboratory is the most serious problem on the LonTalk segment.
