his paper is concerned with the recent technical and market trends of instrumentation and control system and Fuji Electric's status and prospects. It gives an outline of the fourth-generation distributed control system "MICREX-IX" aiming at open and integrated systems and the systematization and development of UNIX computer DS/90. With regard to field instruments, electronic transmitter FCX series, expanded fiber-optic field instrumentation system FFI, and the international standardization and technical trend of field bus are described.

The MICREX put on the market in 1987 was the first EIC-integrated control system joining electrical control (E), instrumentation (I), and computer (C) Fuji Electric put on sale MICREX-IX series developed on the basis of accumulated experiences and up-to-date technologies in October 1992. With the concept of "progress and succession," MICREX-IX has realized a high-resolution CRT, EI-integrated control stations, integrated engineering free of a specific target machine, and computer linkage. The system has developed integration of the field up to computer with remote maintenance of intelligent field instruments and AI technology.

Business environment for industrial instruments has come into competition for survival in the mature market. Under the circumstances, Fuji Electric has developed new products on the basis of its characteristic discrete technologies and kept a fine selection of instruments.
This paper introduces recent new technologies and products in connection with the types and categories of transmitters, flowmeters, and analyzers.

In connection with field bus under international standardization, this paper introduces the points and construction of the standard and Fuji Electric's activities for international standardization and original technologies.
Fuji Electric has submitted proposals including fiber-optic field bus system FFI to IEC and ISA international conference since 1987 and positively contributed to the preparation of standards.

In a recent general business setback, the steel industry has been actively innovating old instrumentation and control systems installed during the high growth of economy.
Control for new systems requires higher levels of automation, labor saving, energy saving, and functions.
The mainstream of new control systems is EIC-integrated systems from a viewpoint of economical efficiency, rationality, and future expandability.
This paper describes recent trends of steel making control systems and the EIC-integrated system citing Mizushima Steel Works of Kawasaki Steel Corp. as an example.

A control system for sinter plants requires improvement in productivity, quality, and automation and labor saving in sintering operation and also an integrated system for electrical control (E), instrumentation (I), and computer (C) from a viewpoint of economical efficiency and rationality. This paper describes an example of a system configuration that uses integrated control system MICREX-IX and its features. Concerning the control system, it gives details of fuzzy control application to drum feeder speed and pallet speed and of the sintering process model as well.

Control equipment for cement plants in Japan tends to reinforce the distributed control system and to introduce the system by integrating or replacing the control room.
This paper describes an outline of instruments for the distributed control system, applications to a cement plant, and an example of the computer system.

Recent refuse disposal plants are actively working for refuse recycling in addition to a single function of incineration from a viewpoint of effective use of resources. The improvement of instrumentation and control system functions are essential for this purpose.
Laying stress on the trend of refuse recycling this paper describes the role and main points of urban incineration instrumentation system IICS-1000.

Coal water mixture (CWM) is a most noticed product among coal application technologies at present. It has great possibilities because it can be transported and used same as heavy oil.
This paper introduces the distributed control system of the production facility supplied to Yanri CWM Company Ltd., China and the receiving and shipping management system supplied to the West-Japan CWM Depot.

Japan depending 99.7% on imported oil because of no resources started oil storage in 1972 aiming at stable oil supply. The oil storage consists of a dual system of state storage and private-sector one and the targets are 50 million kl and a quantity of 70-day consumption respectively, which still continue.
This paper describes the features and functions of the instrumentation and control system for Kikuma Base, a state oil storage base that uses an underground rock reservoir system.

The construction and expansion of airport facility is going on to meet the growth of air transportation needs and to realize safe, convenient, reliable airport facility. Aircraft fueling system, especially monitor and control equipment, demands high-performance, high-reliability systems. These requirements give rise to the integration of electrical control, instrumentation, and computers.
This paper outlines the distributed control system for the second hydrant facility and the monitor and control system composed of computers, fiber-optic field instruments, and inverters provided in Tokyo International Airport Authority.

The molten carbonate fuel cell is expected to be a second-generation fuel cell next to the phosphoric acid fuel cell and is under research and development in Japan and abroad.
Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry and Fuji Electric designed and fabricated an operational research system for characteristic evaluation of 100kW-class stacks for those molten carbonate fuel cells developed.
Laying stress on instrumentation and control, this paper gives an outline of the features and operational characteristics of the operational research installation.

Recent industry-owned thermal power plants that used to CRT operation have been demanding more sophistication such as intelligent man-machine interface including operation support and maintenance support, expansion of automated spheres, advanced control functions, and fusion of the energy center and production center.
This paper describes the distributed control system and its features of Hofu-Nishiura No.2 Power Plant of Mazda Motor Corp., a time-lagged regenerative steam and hot-water thermal power plant, as an example of a recent industry-owned plant.

Yamazen Corporation and Fuji Electric jointly structured a delivery center system for Yamazen's "Logis Tokyo." This system realizes function of labor saving, short lead time, and high quality for multikind, small-quantity, frequent incoming, outgoing, and picking. For material handling equipment, the system uses, precision automated warehouse and a autobranching round conveyor for picking. The information and control system has the host computer and material handling equipment directly connected by a network to execute real-time processing and instruction and also is provided with man-machine interface carefully designed so as to match each allocated function.