Deployment of Asset Administration Shell Submodels

Current discourse of communicative features of Asset Administration Shells (AAS) leaves an important aspect unaddressed: Should submodels be designed to be usable independently from their overarching AAS? Permitting such independent usage allows for more flexible physical deployment of individual AAS submodels in computer networks or on information media. In this paper, a presentation and classification of possible deployment variants is given, based on this principle. In addition, different requirements on the AAS infrastructure are discussed and how the deployment variants can contribute to their fulfillment. Finally, possible prioritization of infrastructure requirements and resulting submodel deployment are shown in three concrete usage scenarios.