A Service-based Architecture for the Interaction of Control and MES Systems in Industry 4.0 Environment

Industrial automation architectures have been evolving due to the new requirements in context of Industry 4.0 or other similar paradigms. Interconnectedness and modularity are two factors that play a crucial role in fulfilling these new requirements. The features must be applied to different automation levels and domains. This paper focuses on a service based interaction of MES and process control in a modular an interconnected environment to promote process optimization. Another important factor that must be considered is security. Linking the industrial automation with IT technologies is a basis for optimization and digitalization but it exposes the system to security threats. Retrieving process information for further data processing and online system optimization including the controlled process must be accomplished via an approach that ensures the security requirements of the system. This paper discusses such a secure approach for the interaction between process control, MES and a digital twin application.