INDUSTRY 4.0

The term Asset Administration Shell (AAS) was embossed by the platform Industry 4.0, where important german industry organisations are incorportated to develop concepts and technologies for the realisation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). These "things" are also reffered to as Assets in the context of the disussions about Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Following the idea of the cyber-physical (production) systems (CP(P)S), these assets are enhanced by a digital representation to realise the integration of the physical world into the information world (digitalisation). An AAS is such a digital representative (figure). There are several alternative descriptions on the market for such information technical representatives, e.g. "digital twin". Depending on the point of view these descriptions are considered as synonym or with deviant meaning.

Figure: Asset Administration Shell (AAS) with Asset (© Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg; VWS-Graphic: Platform Industry 4.0)

An AAS has two interfaces: any interface for the communication between AAS and asset as well as an I4.0 conform interface for the communication between different AAS. The vision of I4.0 is to build a decentrally organised I4.0 system containing several AAS where autonomous, intelligent system participants interact for the purpose to achieve its individual aims. The most fundamental motivation for this effort can be seen in making the already enormous complexity of systems, which will potentially continue to grow in the future, more manageable or even manageable at all by moving from a centralized to a decentralized approach. Therefore a stepwise disintegration of the classical automation pyramid to a distributed, decentrally organised network of service participants can be expected (figure).

© Plattform Industrie 4.0; Anna Salari, designed by freepik

AAS are available in different types - passive, reactive and proactive. Reactive means here to react on interaction requests of external system participants.Proactive means initiating of active behavior and if applicable at external system participants directed requests by the AAS itself. In the passive case There is no direct interaction with the AAS provided. The previous solution related definitions of the platform Industry 4.0 addresses the passive as well as the reactive behaviour of AASes. An important field of work of the chair is the enhancement of the AAS concept by proactive parts.

Further information for the purpose, build up and implementation of an AAS is available here or directly from us!