Overview
ISO 18435-2:2012 - part of the ISO 18435 series - defines the structures and templates used to describe interoperable information exchanges between automation applications. The standard provides formal descriptions for two core elements:
- Application Interaction Matrix Element (AIME) - describes a resource’s capability and interfaces to support specific information exchanges.
- Application Domain Matrix Element (ADME) - organizes and models the information exchanges between applications by aggregating AIMEs.
ISO 18435-2 focuses on diagnostics, capability assessment and maintenance applications integration in industrial automation and specifies how AIMEs and ADMEs relate to one another and to interoperability profiles.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Definitions and terminology for AIME, ADME, AIM (application interaction matrix) and related concepts (AIP, capability).
- AIME formal structure: a two-part element (header and body), where the body contains a context section and a conveyance section. Each section can be represented as an XML schema segment.
- ADME construction: how sets of AIMEs are combined to represent the interoperability requirements between applications.
- Modeling information exchanges using UML (sequence, activity or state diagrams) to describe:
- information item characteristics,
- timing (frequency, latency),
- criticality and quality of service,
- involved resources and interfaces.
- Use of application interoperability profiles (AIP) and reference to ISO 15745-1 for profile notation and interface descriptions.
- Conformance and compliance aspects (clauses covering how implementations can demonstrate adherence to the defined structures).
- Annexes: Annex A (normative) provides formal ADME/AIME schema; Annex B (informative) gives an information exchange example.
Practical applications and target users
ISO 18435-2 is intended for professionals who design, specify or implement interoperable automation solutions, especially for diagnostics and maintenance:
- Systems integrators and automation architects defining application-to-application interfaces.
- Vendors of MES, CMMS, PLC/NC/robot controller software, and manufacturing software units (MSUs) that must support standard interoperability profiles.
- Maintenance engineers and asset managers coordinating capability assessment and diagnostic dataflows across systems.
- Enterprise architects and project managers planning integration of production and maintenance applications.
Practical uses include specifying interface capabilities, documenting required information exchanges between resources, and validating that a set of resource profiles (AIMEs) can support an ADME-defined interoperability relationship.
Related standards
- ISO 18435-1: Overview and general requirements for diagnostics, capability assessment and maintenance applications integration.
- ISO 15745-1: Open systems application integration framework - used for application interoperability profile (AIP) notation and profile references.
Keywords: ISO 18435-2, AIME, ADME, application interaction matrix element, application domain matrix element, industrial automation, interoperability, diagnostics, maintenance applications integration, information exchange, AIP, UML, XML schema.