One thing we want to achieve with this year’s AutomationML Conference is to bring research, standardization and industrial implementation closer together. Our first two paper spotlights are a good example of exactly that.
MTP as basis for plug & play for modular automation systems
Rainer Drath and Vincent Schmitt, Hochschule Pforzheim
Their contribution takes a broader look at the role of the AutomationML-based Module Type Package (MTP) as a vendor-neutral foundation for modular automation and Plug & Play. Besides the MTP concept itself, they also present work around AutomationML Editor plugins for visualization, interaction and automated quality checking of MTP files.
Plug & Play based on semantic Information Models with AML
Philipp Wetterich and Stephan Hensel, Semodia GmbH
Semodia approaches the same topic from the industrial engineering perspective: how can engineers build information models without having to work directly with the complexity of AutomationML? Their approach uses a domain-specific visual editor for PEAs, while an MTP-compatible AutomationML model is continuously created in the background, supporting subsequent MTP generation, automation engineering and even code generation.
Together, the two contributions show something we consider particularly important for AutomationML: standards and research concepts become valuable when they can actually be turned into usable engineering solutions.
The accepted contributions for the AutomationML Conference 2026 are now also available individually on our conference website. We will highlight more of them over the coming weeks.