As hardware becomes cheaper and cheaper, there is an increasing interest in the implementation of distributed control networks with microcontrollers. Such networks are usually inexpensive and of high performance. In this thesis work, a low-cost display control unit for COLAN, a control-oriented network, is designed. The system is based on the 8051 single-chip microprocessor and 82716 video controller. COLAN network users can remotely display and control the screen by sending commands to the display control node through the network. The emphasis of this thesis is in the implementation of the display control node, including hardware and software. It has been demonstrated that a basic set of display control functions has been developed, different type monitors can be supported, and on-screen instructions make the system easy to use. / Graduation date: 1991