Industrial automation is facing a paradigm shift: machines, robots and mobile systems are learning to “understand” space. With the new Open Platform Communications (OPC) UA Companion Specification for Identification and Locating, AIM-D e.V., PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) with the open locating standard omlox, and the OPC Foundation are establishing the foundation for a common language of “spatial intelligence.”
Physical artificial intelligence (AI) — that is, AI that actively perceives physical space and acts contextually — requires a unified understanding of positions, movements and identities in space. This is precisely where the new Companion Specification comes in: it harmonizes the spatial data model for absolute positions within the OPC Foundation and allows for a unified global positioning of assets in the physical and digital world.
This enables a seamless integration of spatial data into industrial IT and OT systems — a prerequisite for autonomous mobile robots, intelligent assistance systems and self-organizing production environments.
The new specification is now freely available on the OPC Foundation’s website and is considered a milestone for the next evolutionary stage of industrial intelligence.
“Machines need a unified understanding of their position in space for coordinated interaction between stationary equipment and mobile robots in the flexible production of tomorrow,” explained Dr. Matthias Jöst, committee leader omlox at PI. “With the now available OPC UA Companion Spec, OPC Foundation, AIM-D, and PI jointly create the basis for a new generation of spatially networked and AI-enabled systems.”
“AIM particularly benefits from the connection between AutoID and locating technologies,” added Peter Altes, managing director of AIM-D e.V. “The unified data model strengthens interoperability — a decisive prerequisite for digitally connected logistics and industry.”
Stefan Hoppe, president and executive director of the OPC Foundation, emphasized: “OPC UA connects worlds — from identification to locating to control. This new specification demonstrates how open standards together create true interoperability — making the industrial Internet of Things scalable and future-proof.”
The collaboration between AIM-D, omlox/PI and the OPC Foundation brings together the disciplines of identification, locating and communication in a common spatial context. This creates a decisive foundation to equip robots, vehicles and machines with a shared spatial understanding — the key to Physical AI, resilient supply chains and autonomous industrial ecosystems.
