Reference Architectures for Industry 4.0

Abstract

The adoption of Industry 4.0 requires reconsideration of plant software architecture due to the strict layers of the automation pyramid hindering the implementation of central Industry 4.0 use cases like the changeable plant. Thus, plant software architecture has to change and, for example, adopt concepts such as the digital twin. In this chapter, we provide an overview of current challenges of the status quo of software architecture in Industry 4.0 and describe how they are solved by reference architectures. Furthermore, we provide guidance on how to classify use cases and reference architectures of Industry 4.0 according to various reference architecture models.