Analysis of Control Architectures in the Context of Industry 4.0

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is a current research topic in the field of production engineering. One common characteristic of Industry 4.0 is decentralization which can be implemented by a decentralized production control. Several researchers have already addressed decentralized production controls. This paper focuses on the characteristics of Industry 4.0 as well as decentralized control approaches and hierarchies. Different properties of approaches and architectures are compared to the objectives of Industry 4.0. Based on this comparison conclusions are drawn about how different architectures suit Industry 4.0, and need for action for the development of production controls of Industry 4.0 is derived.