Details of the Asset Administration Shell Enlarge: Details of the Asset Administration Shell

© Plattform Industrie 4.0

“’Details of the Asset Administration Shell’ is a document that will constantly be updated. This said, developers have started implementing data models for the Asset Administration Shell immediately after the first version was made available. Thus, they have a good basis for future interoperability. The updated version provides information on a wide range of interesting topics such as RDF implementation and AutomationML and OPC UA mappings that have been developed together with AutomationML e. V. and the OPC Foundation. So it definitely makes sense to stay on board.” says Dr Birgit Boss (Robert Bosch GmbH), head of the ‘Asset Administration Shell’ Working Group in the Working Group “Reference Architectures, Standards and Norms” of Plattform Industrie 4.0.

The updated version of ‘Details of the Asset Administration Shell’ now includes information on OPC UA, AutomationML and RDF mapping. It is available in the download section of Plattform Industrie 4.0’s website.

The 2018 publication entitled ‘Details of the Asset Administration Shell Part 1 – The exchange of information between partners in the value chain of Industrie 4.0’ has recently been updated by Plattform Industrie 4.0 and is now available as version 2.0. The publication states how companies can use the Asset Administration Shell to compile and structure information in a way that allows for all this information to be shared as a package set of files) with partners at several levels of the value chain without having to provide online access to this data from the very beginning.

The publication provides valuable information on the Asset Administration Shell:

  • It describes the information content and serialization formats of an Asset Administration Shell.
  • It specifies a technology-neutral UML model, an XML and JSON schema and mappings for OPC UA, AutomationML and the Resource Description Framework (RDF).
  • It includes a definition of the AASX exchange format, which is used for the secure transmission of Asset Administration Shells.
  • It takes account of security aspects and defines access rights for information stored in the Asset Administration Shell based on the Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) concept.

The AASX Package Explorer – a tool that helps software developers to work with the Asset Administration Shell right away

The AASX Package Explorer is a software tool that helps you create and edit Asset Administration Shells for your business use case in the XML and JSON formats. Concept descriptions featuring eCI@ss IRDIs are automatically created and referenced. Import and export functions – for example for BMEcat, AutomationML and OPC UA – allow for the swift integration of other data formats and relevant company data.
Download the tool for free!


The AASX Package Explorer is an open source implementation that can be downloaded as a compiled software that is licensed under Eclipse Public License 2.0 (EPL 2.0).
„The AASX Package Explorer helps you create your first Asset Administration Shell easily and quickly. Many companies have already made use of this opportunity to explore the potential of the Asset Administration Shell.” says Dr Michael Hoffmeister (Festo AG & Co. KG), chair of the ZVEI Working Group on ‘Models and Standards’ in the Working Group “Reference Architectures, Standards and Norms” of Plattform Industrie 4.0.

Discover the Asset Administration Shell at SPS: Our tips



Working Group "Reference Architectures, Standards and Norms” of Plattform Industrie 4.0.
In this Working Group more than 100 specialists from industry, research, federal authorities, standardization and associations develop basic concepts for Industrie 4.0 standards. In cooperation with its partners, the working group brings its ideas to international standardization processes.
For more information, see Administration Shell.