SMART SENSORS IN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

Smart sensors and smart actuators are becoming a reality in process co ntrol and manufacturing industries. In this paper, we present the refl ections of structured working groups that are concerned with the probl em of the definition of smart sensors and actuators and the integratio n of these components into industrial processes. This paper also gives a census of the benefits to be derived from the use of smart sensors, followed by a functional analysis of smart sensor concept. This analy sis is necessary to build a reference model. The development of this r eference model and a more detailed description of the measurement func tion are also presented.