Reference modelling for distributed intelligent control system

Increasing availability, security, quality and competitiveness of the production systems constitute today a challenge needing new industrial strategies. The automation functions can contribute to these new strategies, for example, identifying “invariants” within automation engineering and promoting new design approaches based upon a “know-how” reuse, or, enlarging their field to other enterprise facilities in a computer-integrated manufacturing and engineering context. Our works on design methodology based on reference models and their applications in European ESPRIT projects for the design of distributed intelligent actuators and sensors, constitute a first stage for this evolution. The aim of this paper is to show our gradual approach from the definition of partial reference models of control part functions and the mechanisms of their use, to their application onto distributed intelligent control system