What is an Asset Administration Shell?

The Digital twin standard for Industry 4.0

Concepts and Applications of the I4.0 Asset Administration ShellARC Advisory Group

Asset Administration shell and communication mode

The Asset Administration Shell (AAS), a key concept of Industry 4.0 and is used to describe an asset electronically in a standardized manner (see also the layers paragraph). Its purpose is to exchange asset-related data among industrial assets and between assets and production orchestration systems or engineering tools. In summary the administration shell:

• integrates the asset into Industrie 4.0 communication (e.g. virtual representation of physical object)

• is addressable in the network and identifies the asset unambiguously (e.g. product is now integrated part of information process)

• provides a controlled access to all information of the asset (e.g. layers)

• is the standardized and secure communication interface

• can integrate intelligent and also non-intelligent („passive“) assets (without a communication interface), e.g. via bar codes or QR codes

• represents the entire life cycle of products, devices, machines and plants.

(from the Platform Industry 4.0 Details of the Asset Administration Shell, from idea to implementation report)

This means that apart from describing an asset in a standardized way, it can also communicate in an I4.0 compliant manner by using a standard for communication (need for standardization is important). With all parties involved having access to the connected world and all information is defined in a harmonized way (same language), information can be shared in the value chain where the asset can be followed during its life cycle.

IndustryApps follows all prescribed standards for Digital twins and Semantics

Click here for Details of Asset administration shell