Product-oriented Product-Process-Resource Asset Network and its Representation in AutomationML for Asset Administration Shell

2025-10-01

AI Summary

Current product lifecycle management—particularly for automotive multidisciplinary mechatronic systems—suffers from incomplete coverage of industrial standards and misalignment of modeling focus away from the product itself. Method: This paper proposes the Product-oriented Product–Process–Asset Network (PoPAN) model, centered on product structure as the foundational element of PPR (Product–Process–Resource) modeling, thereby unifying design, manufacturing, operation, and end-of-life phases. It integrates remanufacturing, refurbishment, and reuse requirements into a holistic product–process–resource asset network, embedded as a digital twin within an Asset Management Center. Model serialization leverages AutomationML, while interoperability is achieved through synergistic integration of the Asset Administration Shell and the PPR paradigm to support Cyber-Physical Production Systems. Contribution/Results: Validated in an industrial use case—disassembly and remanufacturing of electric vehicle batteries into stationary energy storage systems—the PoPAN model demonstrates feasibility, cross-phase data continuity, and semantic interoperability.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Applications
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Activity and Plan Recognition
• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Cost models of using LLMs in production systems

Abstract

Current products, especially in the automotive sector, pose complex technical systems having a multi-disciplinary mechatronic nature. Industrial standards supporting system engineering and production typically (i) address the production phase only, but do not cover the complete product life cycle, and (ii) focus on production processes and resources rather than the products themselves. The presented approach is motivated by incorporating impacts of end-of-life phase of the product life cycle into the engineering phase. This paper proposes a modelling approach coming up from the Product-Process-Resource (PPR) modeling paradigm. It combines requirements on (i) respecting the product structure as a basis for the model, and (ii) it incorporates repairing, remanufacturing, or upcycling within cyber-physical production systems. The proposed model called PoPAN should accompany the product during the entire life cycle as a digital shadow encapsulated within the Asset Administration Shell of a product. To facilitate the adoption of the proposed paradigm, the paper also proposes serialization of the model in the AutomationML data format. The model is demonstrated on a use-case for disassembling electric vehicle batteries to support their remanufacturing for stationary battery applications.

Problem

• Extends PPR modeling to cover entire product lifecycle beyond production
• Integrates end-of-life considerations like remanufacturing into engineering phase
• Creates digital product shadow for cyber-physical production systems

Innovation

• Product-Process-Resource model for entire lifecycle
• Digital shadow in Asset Administration Shell
• AutomationML serialization for model implementation