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Indus­trial Digital Twin Asso­ci­a­tion (IDTA)

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Indus­trial Digital Twin Asso­ci­a­tion (IDTA) The Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA) is the industry organization that develops and maintains the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) specifications and submodel templates, the standard for interoperable digital twins in industry. It is based in Frankfurt am Main.

Context

The Indus­trial Digital Twin Asso­ci­a­tion, IDTA for short, is the home of the Asset Admin­is­tra­tion Shell. Where Plat­tform Indus­trie 4.0 devel­oped the orig­inal concept, the IDTA turns it into spec­i­fi­ca­tions, submodel templates and tools that compa­nies can imple­ment. Its goal is that the digital twin of an indus­trial product works the same way, no matter which vendor built it.

Essen­tials
  • What it is: the industry asso­ci­a­tion behind the Asset Admin­is­tra­tion Shell (AAS)
  • Founded: 2020 by VDMA, ZVEI and Bitkom together with compa­nies from automa­tion, soft­ware and manu­fac­turing
  • Head­quar­ters: Frank­furt am Main, Germany
  • Main outputs: AAS spec­i­fi­ca­tions, submodel templates and open-source tooling
  • Rela­tion to OI4: strategic coop­er­a­tion since January 2022: IDTA defines, OI4 imple­ments and tests

What does the IDTA do?

  • Spec­i­fi­ca­tions: the IDTA main­tains the AAS spec­i­fi­ca­tions, from the meta­model and the API to secu­rity and the AASX package format.
  • Submodel templates: working groups with member experts define stan­dard­ized submodels such as the Digital Name­plate, Tech­nical Data or Carbon Foot­print and publish them free of charge.
  • Open source and tools: the IDTA supports open-source imple­men­ta­tions and tooling that help compa­nies get started.
  • Stan­dard­iza­tion: it feeds the AAS into inter­na­tional stan­dard­iza­tion, where the struc­ture became IEC 63278.
  • Commu­nity: events, network meet­ings and testing activ­i­ties bring devel­opers and users together.

History and members

The IDTA was founded in 2020 by the German industry asso­ci­a­tions VDMA, ZVEI and Bitkom together with compa­nies from automa­tion, soft­ware and manu­fac­turing. It has grown into an inter­na­tional asso­ci­a­tion with more than 100 member orga­ni­za­tions, from large automa­tion vendors to soft­ware start-ups and research insti­tutes.

IDTA and the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance

The IDTA and the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance comple­ment each other. In January 2022 they signed a memo­randum of under­standing for close coop­er­a­tion. The divi­sion of roles is clear: the IDTA focuses on defi­n­i­tions and provides the spec­i­fi­ca­tions and stan­dard­ized submodels. OI4 builds on these defi­n­i­tions as an imple­men­ta­tion alliance and tests them in joint projects, from the shop floor to the cloud.

The coop­er­a­tion shows in prac­tice. A dedi­cated submodel for digital quality docu­ments, covering digital cali­bra­tion certifi­cates, is being devel­oped in an IDTA working group, while OI4 members tested the exchange of digital cali­bra­tion certifi­cates through the AAS across compa­nies. OI4 members also take part in the AAS network meet­ings orga­nized by the IDTA and part­ners, and the OI4 Twin­sphere plat­form is aligned with IDTA meta­models.

Frequently asked ques­tions

What does IDTA stand for?

IDTA stands for Indus­trial Digital Twin Asso­ci­a­tion, the orga­ni­za­tion that main­tains the Asset Admin­is­tra­tion Shell stan­dard.

Are the IDTA spec­i­fi­ca­tions free?

Yes. The IDTA publishes its AAS spec­i­fi­ca­tions and submodel templates free of charge.

What is the differ­ence between the IDTA and Plat­tform Indus­trie 4.0?

Plat­tform Indus­trie 4.0 is a German network of industry, poli­tics and research that devel­oped concepts such as RAMI 4.0 and the orig­inal asset admin­is­tra­tion shell. The IDTA is the asso­ci­a­tion that main­tains and develops the AAS spec­i­fi­ca­tions for prac­tical use.

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