Apps and digital twin in one platform

The digital platform uniquely solves a problem that many suppliers of industrial goods are currently facing: Industrial companies make use of a multitude of devices and machines in their production, all of which are supposed to provide and exchange data as part of process digitization. However, these individual machines are difficult to integrate with third-party software. They deliver and exchange data in non-standard semantics. Technical data and CAD models are also distributed across a wide variety of systems. The user is faced with the complex challenge of harmonizing and merging this data in order to maintain an overview of his production.

The platform solves this issue through a novel concept in mechanical engineering: Similar to smartphones, apps are offered on the platform with which current functionalities and smart algorithms can be quickly integrated into the pump. Unlike smartphones, however, the innovative, open platform offers all APPs the same database, the digital twin of the pump, as well as the twins of your components. This allows apps to interact, collaborate and complement each other. The open architecture and SDKs offered also make it possible to develop third-party apps for the pump or other machines quickly and with minimal effort. Adding components from different manufacturers and integrating their signals and data, such as sensors, motors or inverters, is also standardized and is done simply by docking the digital twin of the components to that of the pump.

Interoperability through the Digital Twin

Technologically, the applied Digital Twin is based on the Administration Shell (AAS), which is standardized by the Industrie 4.0 platform and IDTA, which ensures interoperability with other system. The Module Type Package (MTP), which modularizes automation systems in the process industry, can also be integrated in the AAS. In addition to the management shell, the platform relies on other open interfaces based on the current industry standard, such as BaSys 4.2, OPC-UA, MQTT, IO-LINK and, in the future, the language for I4.0 components according to VDI/VDE 2193.
This breakthrough permanently changes the way machines can acquire new capabilities. New apps and functions can also be added during operation.