A skill state machine is a description of a skill that can be observed from the outside of a system component (a workstation or a device, involved in the production). It hides away the skill implementation, offering the monitoring information needed, e.g. current skill state, and control ports to influence the skill execution, e.g. start/stop/pause a skill.

K. Dorofeev, A. Zoitl: Skill-based Engineering Approach using OPC UA Programs. In: IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (Hrsg.): 16th IEEE International Conference of Industrial Informatics (INDIN 2018). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, 2018. [IEEExplore-Link]