On the Connectivity Model Management of Industrial IoT Devices

With the appearance of the Industry 4.0 concept, networking has become a crucial part of industrial vertical applications. The boundaries between concepts are becoming increasingly blurred and there is a need for frameworks that allow systems to be assessed from multiple perspectives. We propose a concept in which the connectivity capabilities of industrial IoT devices can be managed and integrated into a complex system. We present a set of available assets, including a layered network topology information, in order to build a system from them. In this paper we present a visual asset management system architecture for industrial robotic systems with network connectivity features. We provide a set of tools to help robot integrators utilize the Asset Administration Shell to visually organize and manage the connectivity of industrial systems and evaluate features based on their requirements.