Interoperability of the Time of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things

Abstract: Industry 4.0 demands a dynamic optimization of production lines. They are formed by sets of heterogeneous devices that cooperate towards a shared goal. The Internet of Things can serve as a technology enabler for implementing such a vision. Nevertheless, the domain is struggling in finding a shared understanding of the concepts for describing a device. This aspect plays a fundamental role in enabling an “intelligent interoperability” among sensor and actuators that will constitute a dynamic Industry 4.0 production line. In this paper, we summarize the efforts of academics and practitioners toward describing devices in order to enable dynamic reconfiguration by machines or humans. We also propose a set of concepts for describing devices, and we analyze how present initiatives are covering these aspects

Recommendations for advancing the state-of-the-art of the (intelligent) interoperability of IoT towards solving use cases from Industry 4.0 include:

• IoT can serve as enabler technology for Industry 4.0 especially if proper “intelligent interoperability” is achieved.
• Consider a deeper collaboration among practitioners and academics for developing a shared set of concepts.
• Consider structured knowledge around devices that does not only focus on sensors and includes actuators, as well.
• Schema.org may be a promising technology that could overcome the intrinsic complexity of the semantic web; however, in the case of IoT, it is still in its initial phases.

Full article available at the following link:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/fi11020036

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Cite this paper as:

Lelli F. Interoperability of the Time of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. Future Internet. 2019; 11(2):36.

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