Distribution of Intelligence and Input/Output in Data Acquisition Systems

Abstract

Low cost, high performance microprocessors are being used in several distributed intelligence architecture to replace conventional data acquisition systems. Each distributed topology has certain attributes which affect its suitably for data acquisition applications: cost and position modularity, behavior in the presence of a fault, logical complexity, and bottlenecking. The software organization of these systems is impacted by the distribution of intelligence and input/output, particularly in the areas of task communication, error recovery, data base management, and operating systems structure. A ring structure has been developed for data acquisition and control, which uses distributed microprocessor intelligence and modified serial CAMAC protocol. A general purpose instrument and communications control module based upon INTEL 3000 microprocessors has been built.