Distribution automation does not mean scada
Try to imagine this scene: you`re driving down an expressway at 65 miles an hour. A huge semi has pulled in front of you going about 64, or just slow enough to interfere with your progress. It`s also spraying snow and ice all over the road, making it impossible for you to see anything. Clearly, you`re going to pass this guy. No problem, right? A quick look in the mirrors to make sure the way is clear into the passing lane and get ready to go. Your next step, of course, is to check your brake pressure, your oil temperature and pressure, the condition of your coolants (temperature and volume-wise), the precise amperage of your battery output and of course the temperature across the engine block. You`ll naturally want to see that the fuel injectors are performing accurately and are ready and able to deliver the quick thrust of gas needed for the anticipated acceleration. One more run by the 64 other gauges that monitor engine performance and hydraulic pressure, a flick of the turn signal, and you`re ready for the big move. It`s an absurd scenario, of course. You don`t need to check any of those things. All that information, if you did have it, would more likely serve to confuse you than to assist you in the simple maneuver you`re preparing to undertake. So, over the years, most gauges that measure those variables have disappeared, if they ever existed. Sure, we like to know fuel levels and engine temperature, and some of us care about r.p.m.s and a few other things, but by and large we leave the rest of those considerations to the entity called {open_quotes}Buick{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}Jetta{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}BMW.{close_quotes} And we go ahead and pass the truck. In modern parlance, we have {open_quotes}empowered{close_quotes} our car to take care of the kinds of tasks that really don`t need our concern or moment-by-moment judgment.
- OSTI ID:
- 192085
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940129--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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