OPC UA even for very small devices
IEEE INDIN 2025 in Kunming, China
We at Adaept Engineering had the honor of leading a comprehensive tutorial on exactly this topic at the renowned IEEE INDIN 2025 (International Conference on Industrial Informatics). The special thing: Our knowledge and experience are now also benefiting audiences in Germany and Europe! In this blog article, we would like to give you an overview of the content, goals and target groups of this tutorial and show you the enormous potential OPC UA has, even on the smallest footprint, for industrial automation and the IIoT sector.
Tutorial overview
This tutorial is intended to give participants a general understanding of OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) and to teach them how to implement OPC UA on small embedded devices for industrial applications. As industry increasingly relies on stronger networking and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the cutting-edge integration of IIoT via gateways is being replaced by the direct integration of IIoT into PLCs and even further down the automation pyramid directly into actuators and sensors. This increases the need for standardized communication protocols such as OPC UA on resource-limited devices and will become an important issue in the next decade. During the tutorial, the concept of standardized domain-specific data models in OPC UA, so-called Companion Specifications, is discussed and explained using selected specifications such as Robotics CS or Cranes & Hoists CS.
Scope and depth
The participants address the challenges and solutions associated with the use of OPC UA in industrial scenarios and in particular on small embedded systems, such as microcontrollers with limited computing power and storage capacity. The tutorial covers the following topics:
- The basics of OPC UA and its significance for industrial automation
- The benefits of OPC UA Companion Specifications (standardized domain-specific data models)
- Hardware considerations for small embedded devices
- Software strategies for efficient implementation of OPC UA
- Case studies that demonstrate successful deployments in industrial environments
- Practical exercises for setting up an OPC UA server with an open-source C stack (open62541)
Target group
The tutorial is aimed at...
- Embedded system engineers who want to integrate OPC UA into their products
- Industrial automation professionals who want to understand communication protocols for IIoT.
- Researchers and scientists interested in the latest developments in industrial communication.
Learning objectives
At the end of the tutorial, participants will...
- understand the benefits of OPC UA in general
- identify the challenges of implementation on small embedded devices.
- Gain knowledge of hardware and software aspects for a successful deployment
gain practical experience through practical demonstrations.
About the author
Dr.-Ing. Arne Wall is a researcher and developer in the field of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), currently serving as a Co-Founder and Senior Research Engineer at Adaept Engineering GmbH. He specializes in secure communication protocols and system architectures, with a significant focus on OPC UA and other IoT technologies such as MQTT and CoAP. Dr. Wall has made substantial contributions to the development of security frameworks for smart building automation systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rostock, where his research centered on enhancing network security in embedded systems. Dr. Wall has published extensively in IEEE and ACM conferences, sharing his insights on topics related to security mechanisms and IoT protocol innovations.
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