Industrial Internet of Things: covering standardization gaps for the next generation of reconfigurable production systems

Abstract

The European industry is currently experiencing a strong transformation under the digital innovations and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. A vast variety of possible solutions for manufacturing companies results in a high heterogeneity of the IT landscape and makes it impossible to meet the increasing requirements that are currently set for modern production systems regarding flexibility, reconfigurability and collaborative behavior. Such specific requirements reveal the lack of architecture standards in the industrial field, especially with regard to connectivity and interoperability in the IoT. Based on the experience gained in a European project, this paper consolidates standardization gaps and needs for the industrial IoT and demands an urgent introduction of new norms and standards driven by the future vision of the IoT transformation.