An automation system and method for its operation

摘要

An automation system comprises a plurality of peripheral devices (1) connected to a communication system (2), each device (1) comprising a predefined functionality for performing a predefined function as part of the automation and for exchanging data that is relevant for the device (1) or its function within the automation system. To expand the capability of self-diagnosis in the automation system, at least some of the peripheral devices (1) which have identical functionalities or identical sub-functionalities are designed to exchange output data generated by or parametric data defining the functionalities or sub-functionalities, to compare these data and to diagnose a malfunction in case of discrepancy between the compared data.