We can define controllers as electronic devices that receive digital signals and process them according to a user-defined program for generating other digital signals in the output in a predefined time interval. In this section, we will explain the main types of controllers used in industrial plants. These are microcontrollers, PLCs, and DCSs.
Controllers
Microcontrollers
A microcontroller is a programmable electronic device that is based on an integrated chip. It includes many of the components needed to make a control system. It can perform different functions autonomously, according to the program that's been implemented. From a computational point of view, a microcontroller is very similar to a microprocessor in that...
