Conceptualizing A Configuration Service for Complex Automation Systems

Arrowhead Framework (AHF) is being developed to enable large-scale IoT based automation by providing an interoperability layer for local clouds. This framework aims to create an abstract model for distributed, heterogeneous, and non-linear systems. Managing the variability in such environments plays a key role in handling complex automation tasks such as in smart production systems. However, there is no standard solution available for handling the variability and configuration specifications in such environments. In this paper, we analyze the existing solutions for configuration management in industrial automation frameworks and provide leverage points for a standardization framework for handling configurations of automated production systems based on the concept of industrial internet of things.