Employing Messenger Communication with Asset Administration Shells

Asset Administration Shells (AAS) have emerged as a main concept to implement the Industry 4.0 paradigm. As part of a series of projects targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs), we implemented a system where the AAS of a machine can communicate via instant messenger with staff e.g. in maintenance, when certain process parameters are out of bounds. The staff can react to the alarm and request additional information in near-natural language from the company’s document archive. The system uses the BaSyx middleware, Matrix Instant Messaging Protocol, and the Maubot framework. This paper contributes to the further development of Industry 4.0 solutions for SMEs by reporting on the implementation efforts of AAS’s in a novel conjunction with a communication platform that offers additional services, therefor pushing for improvements and new solutions.