IEC 61499 as a reference model for reconfigurable
distributed control at real-time level

Through the use of XML commands for the (re)configuration communication, IEC 61499 provides a defined interface to other programs. Therefore generic tools can be developed to configure whole IEC 61499 compliant networks, independently from the vendor of the specific devices, although specific parameters have to be provided by the vendors of the devices. This could easily result in a variety of different tools, because no unitary interface is proposed. Probably resulting in increased effort of device reconfiguration, as the handling of different tools has to belearned and the appropriate selected.