Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 25-7 - 13

has guaranteed the safety of persons, processes, and equipment
(in this order of importance). The use of function blocks
is not mandatory (since there are other ways to implement
programming interfaces) but is encouraged, as demonstrated
by the publication of the IEC 61499 Standard in 2005
[10], [11].
In a time when huge quantities of measured data are being
loaded and processed in the cloud, we wonder if some of
these strategies can be applied to IoT systems. These systems
use web-based communication protocols-like MQTT and
HTTP-that provide information about the quality of the communications
service (QoS) but tell nothing about the quality of
the transferred data. Therefore, it would be interesting to include
in the payload not only the measured value, but also its
status, all wrapped in a data structure, as it happens in FF. Secondly,
there are no rigid rules for processing data in the cloud,
as each platform provides its own set data flows, programming
interfaces, and development tools. Therefore, it would
be interesting to agree on a minimal programming interface-
eventually based on function blocks-to force common rules
and behaviors that would enable the implementation of safety
locks, as it happens in FF. To put it simply: we believe that is
reasonable to scale some of the concepts of fieldbuses up to the
cloud, in particular those related with data assessment, data
health, and safety locks, concepts that were developed by the
automation industry and have been in production for many
years with good results. By remembering well-known practices
from the past, we can better understand the present and
improve the future.
References
[1] L. T. Jones, J. J. Ressmeyer, and C. A. Clark, " Precision DVM has
wide dynamic range and high systems speed, " Hewlett-Packard
Journal, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 23-31, Apr. 1981.
[2] " IEEE Standard Codes, Formats, Protocols, and Common
Commands for Use with IEEE Std 488.1-1987, IEEE Standard
Digital Interface for Programmable Instrumentation, " IEEE Std
488.2-1992, pp. 1-254, Dec. 1992.
[3] E. Y. Song and K. Lee, " Understanding IEEE 1451 - networked
smart transducer interface standard, " IEEE Instrum. Meas. Mag.,
vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 11-17, Apr. 2008.
[4] S. K. Sen, " Foundation Fieldbus, " in Fieldbus and Networking
in Process Automation, 2nd
Florida, USA: CRC Press, Apr. 2021.
[5] " Proven technology for a digital future, " Fieldcomm Group,
accessed Dec. 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.
fieldcommgroup.org/.
[6] K. J. Åström and T. Hägglund, PID Controllers, Theory, Design
and Tuning, 2nd
International Society of Automation, 1995.
[7] V. Viegas, O. A. Postolache, P. M. B. Silva Girão, and J. M. Dias
Pereira, " Quimera: the easy way to simulate Foundation Fieldbus
applications, " Computer Applications in Engineering Education, vol.
24, no. 6, pp. 914-925, Aug. 2016.
[8] " LD302, Foundation fieldbus pressure transmitter series, " SMAR
Technology Company, accessed May 2022. [Online]. Available:
October 2022
ed. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA:
ed., chap. 7, pp. 89-118. Boca Raton,
https://www.smar.com/en/product/ld302-foundationfieldbus-pressure-transmitter-series.
[9]
" FY302, Foundation fieldbus valve positioner, " SMAR
Technology Company, accessed May 2022. [Online]. Available:
https://www.smar.com/en/product/fy302-foundationfieldbus-valve-positioner.
[10]
V. Vyatkin, IEC 61499 Function Blocks for Embedded and Distributed
Control Systems Design, 3rd
ed. Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina, USA: International Society of Automation, 2015.
[11] " IEC61499, The new standard in automation, " iec61499.com,
accessed Dec. 2021. [Online]. Available: http://www.iec61499.
com/.
Vítor Viegas (M'15-SM'22, vitor.viegas@escolanaval.pt) is
an Assistant Professor at the Portuguese Naval Academy in
Almada, Portugal, is an Invited Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic
Institute of Setúbal, Portugal and is a Researcher at
the Institute of Telecommunications in Lisbon, Portugal. His
research interests concern electronic instrumentation, measurement
systems, and industrial informatics. He received his
Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the
Technical University of Lisbon, currently known as the University
of Lisbon.
J. M. Dias Pereira (M'00-SM'04) is Principal Coordinator
Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal and
Senior Researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications in
Lisbon, Portugal. His main research areas include smart sensing,
data sensor fusion, A/D and D/A conversion techniques,
instrumentation and transducers for industrial applications,
and advanced data processing techniques for biomedical and
environmental applications. He received his Ph.D. degree in
electrical engineering from the Technical University of Lisbon,
currently known as the University of Lisbon.
Pedro M. B. Girão (M'00-SM'01) is Full Professor at the Higher
Technical Institute in and is a Senior Researcher at the Institute
of Telecommunications in Lisbon, Portugal. His main research
interests include instrumentation, transducers, measurement
techniques, and digital data processing, particularly for biomedical
and environmental applications. Metrology, quality,
and electromagnetic compatibility are also his areas of regular
activity. He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering
from the Technical University of Lisbon, currently known as
the University of Lisbon.
Octavian Postolache (M'99, SM'06) is Associated Professor,
with habilitation, at the University Institute of Lisbon and
Senior Researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications in
Lisbon, Portugal. His fields of interest are smart sensors for
biomedical and environmental applications, signal processing
with application in biomedical and telecommunications, nondestructive
testing, and automated measurement systems. He
graduated in electrical engineering at the Gheorghe Asachi
Technical University of Ias¸i, Romania, where he received the
Ph.D. degree in 1999.
IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine
13

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Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 25-7

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