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Unlocking Smart Production

Explore our reference architecture, domain model, and open standard integration interfaces designed to accelerate adoption of robotics in smart factories and warehouses.

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Reference Architecture and
Open Standard Integration Interfaces

Introducing a collection of open standard integration interfaces and a reference architecture for smart production designed to accelerate the adoption of robotics in smart factories and warehouses. These include a reference architecture, a domain model, and open integration interfaces robotics cells and mobile robot fleets and provide an unprecedented framework for interoperable, high-performance industrial robotic systems.

The reference architecture and open standard interfaces address critical industry challenges such as vendor lock-in, complex deployments, and low interoperability, offering a foundation for scalable automation. From cloud-edge orchestration to standardized interfaces for AMRs (autonomous mobile robots), equipment, and logistics.

The reference architecture, designs and the included open standard integration interfaces are open and free to use under Apache License 2.0.

 

Reference Architecture for Smart Production Systems

The reference architecture defines a blueprint for integrating autonomous robots, cloud-edge infrastructure, digital twins, and business systems. Tailored for real-world smart production environments and addressing real-world challenges like vendor lock-in, deployment complexity, and low interoperability, it presents a layered model with use cases, logical system design, and physical deployment strategies tailored to smart production environments.

#ReferenceArchitecture #SmartProduction #CloudEdge #5G #DigitalTwin

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Domain Model

The domain model establishes a shared vocabulary and conceptual structure across all interface standards. It defines key elements like equipment, operations, zones, world models, and control layers that underpin system-wide interoperability and serve as the semantic backbone for integration.

#DomainModel #Interoperability #SystemDesign #Vocabulary

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Standard Integration Interface

These open standards are set to support production facilities, manufacturers, warehouse and distribution centers, integrators, and system architects and enable them to implement next-generation automation with ease and flexibility.

The open interfaces enable seamless communication across robotic cells, AMRs, palletizing stations, storage systems, fleet managers, and business IT. Designed to be modular, vendor-independent and compatible with a wide set of communication protocols and technologies including MQTT, REST and Socket Messaging. They feature a set of interfaces enabling seamless communication and integration of robotic cells, AMRs, palletizing stations, automated storage systems, fleet managers, and high-level control and IT-systems. The specifications reduce integration overhead and enable scalable deployments across diverse equipment and software systems.

#OpenInterfaces #AMR #EquipmentIntegration #Intralogistics #PlugAndPlay #MQTT #HLC

Find the papers here

Illustration: Open standard integration interfaces allow easy plug-and-play integration of robotics systems, automation equipment and IT business-systems. The interfaces are a significant building block in enabling flexible smart production.

Standard Automated Storage Interface

The standard defines the interface between a High-Level Control (HLC) system and an Automated Storage system. It covers job handling, location configuration, error strategies, and standardized telegrams for interacting with cranes, cradles, and container storage units. Built on the base equipment interface, this standard ensures reusability and compatibility across automated storage technologies.

#AutomatedStorageSystems #HighLevelControl #JobHandling #EquipmentIntegration

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Standard Equipment Interface

Serves as the base specification for all equipment-level interfaces. It defines communication patterns, telegram structures, and system states that support interoperable control between HLC systems and any compliant industrial equipment. This foundational standard underpins more specialized interfaces across the system.

#IndustrialEquipment #HighLevelControl #CommunicationStandard #TelegramProtocol

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Standard Robotic System Communication Interface

The document outlines the foundational principles that unify all equipment-related interfaces. It introduces shared concepts, data structures, and topic hierarchies used across the open standard interface family. This ensures consistency and scalability for communication between HLC systems and various industrial subsystems.

#InterfaceDesign #StandardizedCommunication #MQTT #SystemInteroperability

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Standard Interfleet-to-Fleet Interface

Defines how different AMR fleets and their respective fleet managers can interoperate. The interface enables handovers, coordination, and status reporting between fleets, ensuring smooth collaboration in multi-vendor AMR environments. It is essential for scaling smart logistics across large, heterogeneous sites.

#FleetManagement #AutonomousMobileRobots #MultiVendorIntegration #InterfleetCommunication

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Standard Palletizing Interface

Specifies the interface between a High-Level Control (HLC) system and robotic palletizing equipment. It defines job types, layer and row management, and coordination mechanisms across palletizing modules. This standard ensures consistent, vendor-neutral integration of palletizing functions.

#PalletizingAutomation #RoboticPackaging #HighLevelControl #StandardizedJobTypes

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Standard Production Cell Interface

Standardizes the interface between HLC systems and robotic production cells. It includes telegram definitions for job requests, operational flow control, and status tracking. Designed for modular use, it supports a wide range of production cell layouts and tasks.

#RoboticProductionCells #ModularAutomation #OperationalControl #JobOrchestration

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Standard Top Module Interface

The protocol defines how High-Level Control systems interact with Top Modules mounted on AMRs. It supports operations like lifting, rotating, or scanning with standardized telegrams and MQTT topics. This protocol enables the flexible deployment of modular tools across different mobile robot platforms.

#TopModuleIntegration #MobileRobotics #ModularTools #TaskExecution

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Standard Transport Interface

The standard describes the management of transport operations between zones and locations. It focuses on task orchestration for mobile robots and covers routing, pickup/drop-off procedures, and zone-based decision-making.

#TransportAutomation #MobileRobotRouting #ZoneControl #PickupAndDropoff

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High-Level Control to Business System Communication

Specifies how HLC systems communicate with business-level systems such as ERP, WMS, or MES. It enables the exchange of job data, execution feedback, and order synchronization, aligning real-time automation with enterprise-level workflows.

#BusinessSystemIntegration #HighLevelControl #ERPConnectivity #OrderSynchronization

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Communications Protocol

There are five supported communication protocols within the overall integration architecture – all chosen for their ease of use, reliability, security, high performance and compliance to industry standards. The protocols supported are Socket messaging, REST web services, MQTT, OPC UA, and Database interface – thus aiming to support the most common and relevant communication protocols and ensuring compatibility with a wide range of industrial systems.
The preferred protocol used for communication is MQTT.

#Protocol #Messaging #IoT #CommunicationStandard

Find the papers here

MQTT Protocol
for Standard Interfaces

The document specifies the MQTT protocol used in the project, covering topic structures, message formats, and communication patterns for reliable machine-to-machine data exchange. While this paper focuses exclusively on MQTT, it represents just one of five supported communication protocols within the overall integration architecture.

#MQTT #Protocol #Messaging #IoT #CommunicationStandard

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Background

Parts of the releases were made in the 5G-Robot project also known under the long name 5G-ENABLED AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOTIC SYSTEMS – the largest innovation project that has been launched under the Innovation Fund Denmark’s (IFD) Grand Solutions program.

The groundbreaking project united Denmark’s leading robot, automation and factory digitalization companies as technology vendors, research partners and industry-leading end-user companies.

 #5G #5G-Robot

 

The aim of the project was to revolutionize manufacturing – paving the way to smart production and smart factories and the application of a number of new technologies in production and manufacturing including 5G wireless communication, cloud and edge computing and digital twin. 

Intelligent Systems played a leading role in the project, providing the glue that ties the robotic solutions of the partners together making the work as one – i.e. one connected integrated intelligent manufacturing system.

Read more about the 5G-Robot project here: https://www.5gsmartproduction.aau.dk/5g-robot

 

Illustration: Open standard integration interfaces allow easy plug-and-play integration of robotics systems, automation equipment and IT business-systems. The interfaces are a significant building block in enabling flexible smart production.

Intelligent Systems AS