Challenges in Skill-based Engineering of Industrial Automation Systems

Skill-based engineering is gaining attention as a means to increase flexibility and changeability in engineering industrial automation systems. This paper proposes the Skill-based Engineering Model (SEM), which formally describes the core entities that play a role in skill-based engineering. Accordingly, we propose a four dimensional classification scheme for skills, and assess the suitability of a property model and OWL ontologies to describe and match skills. For each case, we identify a list of challenges that must be addressed to make skill-based engineering a reality in industrial automation systems. We believe that this paper can guide researchers to study various open aspects of skill-based engineering to make it feasible in complex industrial automation systems.