Decoupled OPC UA Server: Towards Semantic Interoperability in Industry 4.0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2026.47.13791Keywords:
Digital Twin, Industrial Communications, Industry 4.0, OPC UA, Semantic InteroperabilityAbstract
This paper proposes an advanced communication architecture designed to overcome the technological dependency (vendor lock-in) associated with embedded OPC UA servers in proprietary hardware. The development of an external OPC UA server implemented in C# is presented, completely decoupled from Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). Furthermore, this proposal enables standard connectivity for legacy controllers that lack native support. The proposed solution leverages the OPC UA information model to ensure the semantic interoperability of industrial data. The communication workflow is structured into two critical interfaces: a upstream layer for direct integration with client applications and enterprise management systems (ERP/MES), and a downstream layer oriented toward field data acquisition. The architecture's validity is experimentally demonstrated through its integration with a standard client and a Unity-based Digital Twin, optimized for real-time monitoring and predictive fault diagnosis in Industry 4.0 environments.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rafael Aznar Estrada, Sergio Illana Rico, Alejandro Sánchez García, Ildefonso Ruano Ruano, Silvia Satorres Martínez, Elisabet Estévez Estévez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
