Smart instruments have been available since the mid-1980s when first 4-20mA HART devices entered the market, quickly followed by fieldbus-based devices. These digital communication technologies made it possible for instruments to provide more than just a process signal. Using digital interfaces, these devices were now able to send device status, diagnostics and other information.Endress+Hauser estimates that of the 40 million of its process instruments installed worldwide, 90% are digital, smart devices. These smart instruments provide an incredible amount of information at "the edge" that is of immense benefit to a wide range of host systems and IIoT applications, such as maintenance management, asset management, inventory control, and so forth. But one major problem facing industrial plants is: How do we manage all this data?
展开▼
