Key Words: RAMI 4.0; IEC/EN 62264; asset; communication and presentation capabilities; activity; scheduling; model; web services; B2MML.
Abstract. The Reference Architectural Model for Industry (RAMI) 4.0 tends to unify the efforts for rapid development of new technologies of the information and communication technology sector by stating definitions of an asset and its role in the cyber-physical world with the use of presentation and communication functions applied to the asset. Furthermore, the standard describes how an asset should interact with the cyber-physical world. In order to introduce the asset as a conceptual fundament, the standard RAMI 4.0 extends the Equipment hierarchy model of another standard – IEC/EN 62264, which is well known and applied as an architectural framework within software integration projects of various information systems. The differences between, are that in IEC/EN 62264, a physical asset model corresponds to the equipment model, whereas the RAMI 4.0 states that an asset may present even a Product or Connected World (Cyber-Physical World). The introduced extension is necessary because th perspective of the two standards is different. IEC/EN 62264 defines objects and models for integration, in which a Product, as an abstraction of “what should be made?” is a part of Product Definition Model (Operations Definition Model), and when it is physically performed “what is actually made?”, it is a part of Material Model. As such, the objects “carrying” the integration information are different. The Connected world also is an asset in RAMI 4.0, because it has value for a company, while the whole subject of the IEC/EN 62264 standard is to integrate information systems, thus achieving “Connected World”. This is why the standard IEC/EN 62264 should be considered as a “roadmap” for the cyber-physical transformation of the RAMI 4.0 standard. The aim of the article is to discuss the importance and the assumption of non-implicit relations between the two standards as well as the concept for development of RAMI 4.0 administration shell based on IEC/EN 62264 architecture.