A brief tutorial on the IEEE 1451.1 Standard - Part 13 in a series of tutorials in instrumentation and measurement

The 1451.1 standard addresses the definition of a network capable application processor (NCAP). The NCAP is a piece of hardware and software that acts as a bridge between transducers and the communication network. On the field side, an abstraction layer provides high-level functionality to communicate with transducers. On the network side, an abstraction layer provides high-level functionality to handle network requests. In the middle, the control routine adds intelligence to the NCAP by running algorithms that process the data received by both sides (the field and the network) and decide the next state of the system. The software architecture of the 1451.1 Std. is based on an information model, a data model, and two network communication models.The diversity of fieldbuses and network protocols leads a manufacturer to closed, less-flexible, and generally more-expensive solutions.