Configuration of Application Layer Protocols within Real-time I4.0 Components

Within the context of Industry 4.0, future production systems are expected to support mass customization up to lot size one. In order to realize the individual production processes, a changeable and consistent integration of assets from different manufacturers is required. Therefore, the concept of I4.0 components was developed. Every I4.0 component provides a so-called asset administration shell, i.e. a standardized virtual representation of its capabilities. This paper focuses on real-time I4.0 components that require a deterministic communication with bounded low-latency in-between. In contrast to non-real-time I4.0 components, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) is enhanced by the new real-time communication technology Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN, IEEE 802.1). The basic configuration of TSN connections within the asset administration shell was already addressed by previous work. In this work, we present the configuration of application layer protocols using the example of OPC UA Publish/Subscribe (PubSub). More precisely, we outline the underlying concept and define additional submodels for the asset administration shell of real-time I4.0 components. Finally, we discuss the advantages of the presented approach in terms of changeability.