Leveraging the Asset Administration Shell: A Ticket-Based Test Environment for Industry 4.0 Components

The importance of comprehensive automated component test solutions has been underlined by the growing need for adaptable, demand-driven manufacturing plants. Software solutions, which play a key role in the flexibility and complexity of a plant, contribute significantly to this trend. A fundamental aspect of this is the interoperability of Industry 4.0 components. Despite the availability of numerous software environments for the configuration of Industry 4.0 components, there is a lack of generally accepted definitions for the implementation of test strategies. In particular, the integration of legacy systems requires critical support. Ideally, this should be done semi or fully automated. This paper presents a test environment concept based on established software engineering test methodologies and the use of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS). A testing strategy for Industry 4.0 components using a ticket system is proposed. The approach uses descriptors to facilitate test execution without further software development effort within the native system component environment.