Towards integrating multi-agent organizations in OPC UA for developing adaptive cyber-physical systems

Abstract

Developing adaptive Cyber-physical Systems (CPS) requires integrating physical components with run-time controls which monitor and adjust the operation of components appropriately. The use of multiagent systems (MAS) is an established approach for embedding adaptive features and the integration of multiagent systems in industrial systems is an active field of research. Industry standards, like OPC UA, allow for vendor independent information exchange and unit control in industrial settings. Here, we propose to represent MAS organizations within OPC UA information models. The organization of a MAS can be seen as a crosscutting concern in structing and integration distributed adaptive applications. Explicit modelling allows to express organizational structures in industrial settings and enables monitoring of these structures at run-time with established tools and frameworks for industrial control.