On 20 April 2016 the German Institute for Standardization, DIN, announced DIN SPEC 91345. It defines the Referenzarchitekturmodell Industrie 4.0, the reference architecture model for Industry 4.0, known as RAMI 4.0. The model was developed in the Plattform Industrie 4.0.
RAMI 4.0 takes the form of a cube of layers. Its three axes are the life cycle of the product, the hierarchy of the plant equipment, and the layers of integration. It serves to describe the basic ideas of Industry 4.0 in a structured way.