A framework for MDE of IoT-based manufacturing cyber-physical systems

Abstract

IoT is a driving force for the next generation of cyber-physical manufacturing systems. The construction and operation of these systems is a big challenge. In this paper, a framework that exploits model driven engineering to address the increasing complexity in this kind of systems is presented. The framework utilizes the model driven engineering paradigm to define a domain specific development environment that allows the control engineer, a) to transform the mechanical units of the plant to Industrial Automation Things (IAT), i.e., to IoT-compliant manufacturing cyber-physical components, and, b) to specify the cyber components, which implement the plant processes, as physical mashups, i.e., compositions of plant services provided by IATs. The UML4IoT profile is extended to address the requirements of the framework. The approach was successfully applied on a laboratory case study to demonstrate its effectiveness in terms of flexibility and responsiveness.