Trend of Process Automation and Factory Automation

This paper presents a trend of PA (process automation) and FA (factory automation). These two major fields of automation are now merging rapidly. Differences between them are now shrinking. The trend is shown from the viewpoint of downsizing, networking, XML, and RFID. However, a basis of the trend is using mathematical models. The automation world becomes so complex that we can not understand and manage it without the models