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Discussion paper 2023

Industrial interoperability with the Asset Administration Shell, OPC UA and AutomationML – A Big Picture of how interoperability with the AAS, OPC UA and AutomationML succeeds

Companies are looking for solutions for the implementation of Industrie 4.0. From the associations‘ point of view, proprietary and closed interoperability solutions are hardly sustainable in the long term. In particular, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), OPC UA with its associated information models (OPC UA Companion Specifications) and AutomationML are considered to be Industrie 4.0 key technologies and are recommended by Plattform Industrie 4.0. These three technologies offer comprehensive concepts for unified digital interoperability between Industrie 4.0-enabled machines and systems throughout their lifecycle. But do they compete with each other or can they create interoperability together?

The associations AutomationML e.V., Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA), OPC Foundation and VDMA recently published a discussion paper, which you can download via the button below, to answer these questions and to provide orientation and recommendations for action. It describes a target image or a „big picture interoperability“ that shows how the technologies mentioned fit together, complement each other and how interoperability across domains is achieved through combined application in industrial automation. In addition, the discussion paper addresses concrete recommendations for action to developers and users of interoperable system solutions and provides orientation for the use of the technologies mentioned.