Fact Sheet: Automation Modeling Language (AutomationML)

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AutomationML has been developed as a data exchange format applicable for all production system engineering data relevant within the whole life cycle of production systems. Therefore, AutomationML provides concepts for system modelling following object oriented paradigms enabling lossless bilateral data exchange and furthermore the development of systems for centralized data management and engineering artifact libraries.

AutomationML: vendor-independent and industrial area neutral

The data format can be applied for lossless data exchange along various chains of data processing systems (including engineering tools) of all industrial areas and beyond without any limits related to licensing and application costs.

With AutomationML as an open, neutral, XML based, standardised, and free data format the data can be exported and imported by tools correctly and without any loss. Hence, the data quality is improved - also because of the possibility to simulate/test the engineering data earlier within the engineering process - which leads to a time and cost reduction. Another fact is that AutomationML can be used within the entire engineering process because of its structure. All plant engineering specific data can be stored within this format: plant structure, geometry and kinematics, logic descriptions, relations between objects, and network related data (communication, electric ...). The data is kept consistently, semantically unambiguous, and can also be kept in a mechatronically oriented way. Figure 2 shows the base structure of AutomationML. The top level format references externally stored data, e.g. the geometry of a plant module in a COLLADA file. The developed structure enables the extension of the data format as well as its adaption of different applications cases without losing significant and semantical correctness and clearness.

Reasons from Industry (example):

The AutomationML data format, developed by AutomationML e.V., standardised in IEC 62714, is an open, neutral, XML-based, and free data exchange format which enables a domain and company spanning transfer of engineering data of production systems in a heterogeneous engineering tool landscape. The goal of AutomationML is to interconnect engineering tools in their different disciplines, e.g. plant planning, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, process engineering, process control engineering, HMI development, PLC programming, robot programming.