Rainer Drath and Vincent Schmitt (Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, Tiefenbronner Str. 65, 75175 Pforzheim, Germany)
Presented at
6th AutomationML Conference: 20 Years of AutomationML
22–23 September 2026, Hochschule Pforzheim, Germany
Hosted by Hochschule Pforzheim
Type
Technical presentation — accepted abstract
Open access
© 2026 The Authors. Published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the AutomationML Conference 2026.
The full contribution will be published on this page after the conference.
Abstract
While inkjet printers are operatable after two minutes of configuration because they support Plug&Play, the same is hardly available for industrial components or modules, especially in a heterogeneous landscape of mixed vendors. But the increasing complexity of modern manufacturing systems demands such standardized, vendor-neutral approaches for machine integration and lifecycle data exchange. Despite extensive standardization efforts, proprietary silos and high integration costs continue to hinder interoperable, multi-vendor automation ecosystems. The AutomationML-based Modular Type Package (MTP) standard addresses this gap and promises to solve this. This contribution consists of two parts.
In the first part of this contribution, an overview about MTP is provided, which is a comprehensive, open interoperability framework that directly addresses critical industrial data continuity challenges. By leveraging AutomationML’s semantic data model, MTP establishes a unified, machine-readable format for modular automation components, enabling seamless data exchange across engineering and operational phases. The MTP standard demonstrably reduces integration effort, eliminates proprietary format dependencies, and enables seamless cross-tool interoperability. Its AML-driven architecture natively supports digital twin workflows, automated model validation, and lifecycle data continuity, substantially lowering both technical and economic barriers to multi-vendor system integration. Because of the maturity level as MTP standard, its transition to broad industry adoption is now imminent. With the forthcoming MTP 2.0 specification (2026) and backing from leading automation vendors (Siemens, ABB, Beckhoff, Festo, and others), the framework has achieved critical industrial traction.
In the second part of this contribution, the authors demonstrate the result of students work — fully functional AutomationML Editor plugins for MTP. These plugins enable real-time visualization, interactive operation, and automated quality checking of MTP files. Hence, they open up ad-hoc module testing, and the integrated quality validation engine — provided by Semodia GmbH — provides detailed conformity feedback, significantly accelerating format acceptance and reducing implementation friction.
In summary, this contribution will demonstrate how MTP serves as an AML driven forward-looking foundation for Industry 4.0-compliant manufacturing ecosystems, bridging the gap between standardization bodies and production floor implementation.
Keywords: MTP; machine interoperability; industry 4.0
Speaker
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rainer Drath is Professor of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Pforzheim University, Germany. He studied Electrical and Automation Engineering at the Technical University of Ilmenau and earned his doctorate in automation engineering.
Prior to joining academia in 2017, he held various research and leadership positions at ABB Corporate Research, where he worked on systems engineering, virtual engineering, functional safety, and Industry 4.0. Prof. Drath is internationally recognized for his contributions to digital engineering and industrial interoperability. He is one of the principal architects of AutomationML (IEC 62714) and has made significant contributions to the development of CAEX and related international standards. His research focuses on systems engineering, digital twins, Industry 4.0, engineering automation, and model-based engineering. He has authored more than 300 publications and several books and has received multiple international awards for his scientific contributions.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{drath2026mtp,
author = {Drath, Rainer and Schmitt, Vincent},
title = {{MTP} as basis for plug \& play for modular automation systems},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 6th AutomationML Conference: 20 Years of AutomationML},
address = {Pforzheim, Germany},
month = sep,
year = {2026},
publisher = {AutomationML e.V.},
url = {https://www.automationml.org/conferences/conference-highlights/mtp-as-basis-for-plug-play-for-modular-automation-systems/}
}
How to Cite
R. Drath, V. Schmitt: “MTP as basis for plug & play for modular automation systems”, Proceedings of the 6th AutomationML Conference: 20 Years of AutomationML, Pforzheim, Germany, 22–23 September 2026.
This page presents the accepted abstract of a contribution to the AutomationML Conference 2026. The full text will be added after the conference. If you are an author and would like a correction, please contact office@automationml.org.