Field device with broadcasting ability

摘要

The invention relates to a device (2) for engagement in a process line (4), comprising a digital communication interface (5) for communication with other devices over a communication network (1) and a computing unit (6) with access to the communication interface (5), which executes a communication procedure which implements a communication protocol, where the communication procedure is designed to broadcast data containing information about the state of the device (2) via the communication network (1) to any number of other devices (2a; 2b; 2c) connected to the communication network (1). The invention further refers to a process line (4) comprising at least one such device (2).