An innovative and flexible architecture for industrial automation

The paper introduces a novel architecture for industrial automation which addresses both the optimization of manufacturing processes and the ability to react to changes in the market demand. The architecture consists of three main components: a mixed-integer-programming level, a two-layered web service level, and an OPC UA server. The web service layer acts as backbone of the architecture and assures its flexibility and adaptability. Several innovative aspects have been combined to achieve the proposed goals: aggregating UA server, automatic address space generation, and session-based connection management. The functionality of the architecture has been tested through an application based on a flexible assembly system. The results indicate that both objectives are met and the decisions are brought closer to the process. In conclusion the architecture is flexible, easy adaptable, and reusable, it optimizes manufacturing processes and it meets the requirements of the device networking ecosystems.