UML4IoT—A UML-based approach to exploit IoT in cyber-physical manufacturing systems

•Using IoT protocols in the development process of manufacturing systems.•An approach to automate the integration of mechatronic components in the IoT environment.•An extension of UML to support the transformation of traditional OO interfaces of manufacturing components to REST-like ones.•UML4IoT: A UML profile for the automatic generation of the LWM2M layer.•Performance analysis and evaluation of a LWM2M based IoT solution for manufacturing systems. Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the world. The manufacturing industry has already identified that the IoT brings great opportunities to retain its leading position in economy and society. However, the adoption of the IoT changes the development process of the manufacturing system and raises many challenges. In this paper, the modern manufacturing system is considered as a composition of cyber-physical, cyber and human components, and IoT is used as a glue for their integration as far as their cyber interfaces are concerned. An approach based on a UML profile for the IoT is presented to fully automate the generation process of the IoT-compliant layer that is required for the cyber-physical component to be effectively integrated into the modern IoT manufacturing environment. The approach can also be applied at the source code level specification of the component in case that a UML design specification is not available. A prototype implementation of the myLiqueur production laboratory system is used to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the UML4IoT approach.