Test engines for the asset administration shell

Abstract The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) is a standard for Digital Twins, a key element of Industry 4.0. In order to realize interoperability as its central prerequisite, manufacturers must implement the formal AAS metamodel specification correctly down to the last detail. To ensure this, conformance testing procedures should be defined and carried out as appropriate quality measures. This article presents comprehensive approaches to carry out formalized metamodel conformance tests for the AAS and its software components by describing the AAS Test Engines . First, the AAS software ecosystem is analyzed providing a systematic categorization of existing AAS software components. Based on these findings, basic building blocks and test setups needed for AAS conformance testing are identified. Then, implementation of these building blocks in the AAS Test Engines is described. Finally, usage, findings and limits of the presented methods based on a real-world case study from the AAS community are illustrated.