In the realm of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN), the shift of network functions to the edge presents both challenges and opportunities across various ...industries. This paper investigates the utilization of Network Resource Management (NRM) within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) framework for network operations in different sectors. Leveraging the Open Platform Communications (OPC) Unified Architecture (UA) Publish Subscribe (PubSub) pattern, we enhance edge networking by automating NRM within SEAL, introducing custom Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) brokers and a mapping node. To validate our approach, we establish a SEAL NRM test server and implement a translator mechanism for interoperability. We address the integration of non-adaptive applications into the NRM domain and demonstrate our proposal with a practical Robot Operating System (ROS) Digital Twin (DT) application, showcasing dynamic NRM’s potential for optimizing network resources in scenarios like 3D printing.
•Optimizing wireless communication for OPC UA applications.•Automatic network resource management with 3GPP SEAL.•Extension of SEAL with NRM in VAL applications and CAPIF.•3GPP NRM Emulation Server.•Evaluation, via a 3D printing use case.
Integration of management information systems is crucial to optimizing internal and external processes in enterprises' environments. One of the technologies sup-porting this integration is OPC UA. An ...embedded automation device OPC UA server can transmit either dead-band tested analog attributes or all changes of ana-log attributes to OPC UA clients. Typically OPC UA server to OPC UA client data transmission is based on subscriptions. Subscription interval, sampling interval, and dead-band are usually controlled by OPC UA clients 1. It is, however, desirable that OPC UA data traffic is controlled by automation de-vice control programs and the embedded OPC UA servers and not by OPC UA clients as specified in the norm. This is because the OPC UA server is the limiting component in the client sever communication scheme. Floating-point attributes in an automation device have small changes all the time, but in real-world plants, analog attributes do not necessarily have to be frequently communicated to OPC UA clients on small changes. In addition to an attribute dead-band test, changes in some attributes can safely be blocked a minimum time since the last attribute update before a new value is transmitted to the UA clients. Analog attributes can also be cyclically transmitted to OPC UA clients with a low frequency to ensure that they receive the exact attribute value after a set maximum time. This paper demonstrates an implementation of this communication scheme by using a device function block to control traffic between an OPC UA server and OPC UA clients for analog attributes.
Interoperability of Cyber-Physical Systems in the context of Industry 4.0 is currently not explicitly considered during product development leading to compatibility problems during commissioning and ...usage. This paper addresses the research question of integrating interoperability based on OPC UA Companion Specifications and its building blocks into Model-Based Sytems Engineering (MBSE). For this purpose, a system modeled in SysML is extended by the requirements resulting from communication via OPC UA. The generated information model is integrated into the OPC UA server, enabling interoperability between Cyber-Physical Systems. A prototypical implementation validates the approach.
•An OPC UA-enabled Cyber-physical Machine Tool (CPMT) based on a generic OPC UA information model for machine tools.•A CPMT Platform enabled by OPC UA and MTConnect.•Decision-making support ...applications for the CPMT Platform and CPMT powered cloud manufacturing.
Cyber-Physical Machine Tools (CPMT) represent a new generation of machine tools that are smarter, well connected, widely accessible, more adaptive and more autonomous. Development of CPMT requires standardized information modelling method and communication protocols for machine tools. This paper proposes a CPMT Platform based on OPC UA and MTConnect that enables standardized, interoperable and efficient data communication among machine tools and various types of software applications. First, a development method for OPC UA-based CPMT is proposed based on a generic OPC UA information model for CNC machine tools. Second, to address the issue of interoperability between OPC UA and MTConnect, an MTConnect to OPC UA interface is developed to transform MTConnect information model and its data to their OPC UA counterparts. An OPC UA-based CPMT prototype is developed and further integrated with a previously developed MTConnect-based CPMT to establish a common CPMT Platform. Third, different applications are developed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed CPMT Platform, including an OPC UA Client, an advanced AR-assisted wearable Human-Machine Interface and a conceptual framework for CPMT powered cloud manufacturing environment. Experimental results have proven that the proposed CPMT Platform can significantly improve the overall production efficiency and effectiveness in the shop floor.
Contemporary industrial systems are challenged by fast-growing requirements for agile and effective reactivity to rapidly changing market demands. To achieve this set of requirements, new ...technologies and paradigms like Internet-of-Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics, Internet-of-Services (IoS), and service-oriented architecture (SOA) are being introduced into the industrial environments. These advances result in the confluence of two dissimilar, but complementary domains: the physical operational technologies (OT) and the cyber information technologies (IT) domains. Convergence of these two domains in a cross-layer fashion implies a new set of two major requirements of components and systems: 1) structural connectivity and 2) functional interoperability. However, the wide variety and heterogeneity of industrial systems-especially in the factory floor-entails integration complexity, which is in contrast with the mentioned requirements. In this paper, we focus on how legacy industrial systems can migrate in a cost-effective manner to the new paradigm of integrated IT-OT levels. We propose an interoperability layer requiring no changes on the legacy device that maps field device data into an ISA95-based information model. The performance of our contributed open-source implementation is evaluated in several deployment configurations.
The industrial communication market is dominated by Ethernet-based fieldbus systems. Although they share similar requirements and market segments, their implementations and ecosystems differ ...considerably. As a result, end customers and device manufacturers are faced with a multitude of technologies that need to be produced, run, diagnosed, maintained, and kept in stock. Although the availability of products and services is largely satisfactory, dealing with multiple solutions generates high costs and limits IoT capability. This paper introduces Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture Time-Sensitive Networking (OPC UA TSN) as a new technology and presents the current view. This time, the industrial prospects of fulfilling industrial communication requirements while leveraging the cost benefits of standard Ethernet hardware in the midterm are in reach. We anticipate that OPC UA TSN will reveal itself as a game changer in the field of industrial automation, being a candidate for establishing a holistic communication infrastructure from the sensor to the cloud.
Internal data from computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining centers are widely used in the development of intelligent monitoring systems recently. These systems are used to monitor the machining ...process in series production for early identification of defects. However, it is important to monitor systems for small series and prototype production processes based on internal data from machining centers, particularly for setting the proper cutting conditions, evaluate process stability, and identify the increase in the spindle load due to the cutting tool wear. In addition to monitoring common parameters, such as acoustic emission, vibration, shape, or color of the chips, the experienced operator could also monitor the actual load values of the drives or any other internal machine tool variables that could help significantly speed up the setting up of a machining process and significantly increase production efficiency even in a small production series. Therefore, an approach to easily operate the machining process monitoring platform was developed and utilized to record and display internal machine tool data via open platform communications unified architecture (OPC UA) communication.
•Integration of measuring devices in an IoT architecture using open standards.•Framework based in IEC 62264 for QOM to describe the activities of QA.•Generic interface using OPC UA to exchange ...information to the QOM activities.•Validation of concept in an experimental scenario in a plant manufacturing industry.
Industry 4.0 promotes the advance of several key areas in manufacturing. Industrial metrology, and associated activities such as Quality Assurance are receiving constant pressure to enhance integration, interoperability, and availability of measurement information to other operations. This promotes a trusted Internet of Things (IoT) or Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) environment where reliable measurement data is accurate and available to different stakeholders This work addresses the integration of measuring devices in an IoT architecture using open standards. It provides a framework, based on IEC 62264 for Quality Operations Management (QOM) and ISO 23952:2020 - Quality Information Framework (QIF) to describe the activities of Quality Assurance and Quality Control and provides a generic interface using OPC UA to receive and send information to the QOM activities, enabling the integration with upper systems such as an ERP and the creation of quality oriented Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). An experimental scenario in the steel manufacturing industry is provided, demonstrating, how the generic interface can support custom software applications by using metrology data to support, reducing product and process defects leading to Zero-Defect Manufacturing (ZDM).
With the development of power system in recent years, it is changing from the direction of smart grid. It is forming a system composed of a large number of intelligent devices with multiple features, ...producing a large number of heterogeneous and related data. However, there is the problem of information closure in the system, because different systems and equipment come from different manufacturers, and based on different standards, there will be information closure between each other. So it has become an important topic for the power industry to establish the relationship and form interoperability. In view of the above problems, this paper first proposes a service interoperability architecture, which is used to solve the problem of information closure and promote the efficient collaboration between multiple devices and businesses. At the same time, in the process of service interoperability, due to the real-time and deterministic requirements of data transmission, this paper studies the IEEE802.1AS clock synchronization protocol, analyzes the delay measurement principle and time synchronization principle in the protocol, proposes a clock synchronization method based on IEEE802.1AS and service interoperability, and proposes an OPC UA based clock synchronization method Finally, the proposed method is proved to be effective in power system.
PDF
