ABSTRACT
Networking at the factory floor is now commonplace. Solutions are available at different levels: sensory, cell, plant, etc. In this chapter, we focus on the sensory level where networks usually called fieldbuses (Pleinevaux and Decotignie, 1988) link sensors and actuators to the first level of automation. This kind of network is no longer the exclusivity of factories and finds its way into cars, planes, and buildings.
