On the Definition of Intelligible IIoT Architectures

IIoT platforms are a digital enabler for the industrial digital transformation, allowing the organisations to have a clear vision over its current status, promoting flexibility for a fast adjustment to market changes. The development of such a complex technological environment raises a two-fold concern: to promote a simpler modular customisation, and to promote the domain expert’s involvement in the process. This requires a new approach on the specification of IIoT architecture, where the conceptualisation phase is crucial. In this context, semantics might play an impacting role, accommodating the multidisciplinary knowledge of IIoT architectures in a technological artefact, at the service of both technological architects and companies’ domain experts. This paper discusses a semantic model to represent IIoT components, its conceptual relations, and technical constraints in a common view, supporting the construction of both IIoT concept and platforms within organisations.