Towards Logistics 4.0: A Skill-Based OPC UA Communication between WMS and the PLC of an Automated Storage and Retrieval System

Abstract

In order to bring intralogistics systems to the same level of interoperability as today's modern production systems, logistics must take the essential steps towards Industry 4.0. This requires an increasing abstraction level of control logic as an enabler for horizontal and vertical integration. The abstraction will lead to the interconnection of manufacturing and logistics control with the production planning and warehouse management systems (WMS). A main enabler for these communication paths are service-oriented architectures (SoA). OPC UA has established itself as a widely used and already adopted SoA-based communication standard in industry. The paper describes the realization of an OPC UA-based approach for the communication between a WMS and a PLC of an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). The conceptual basis of communication design are skills of the ASRS. The work is supported by an architectural design with a subsequent prototypical implementation.