scholarly journals Steering Representations—Towards a Critical Understanding of Digital Twins

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulan Korenhof ◽  
Vincent Blok ◽  
Sanneke Kloppenburg
Keyword(s):  
High Expectations ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Digital Representations ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Digital Twins ◽  
Product Engineering ◽  
Critical Understanding ◽  
Reductionist Approach

Abstract Digital Twins are conceptualised in the academic technical discourse as real-time realistic digital representations of physical entities. Originating from product engineering, the Digital Twin quickly advanced into other fields, including the life sciences and earth sciences. Digital Twins are seen by the tech sector as the new promising tool for efficiency and optimisation, while governmental agencies see it as a fruitful means for improving decision-making to meet sustainability goals. A striking example of the latter is the European Commission who wishes to delegate a significant role to Digital Twins in addressing climate change and supporting Green Deal policy. As Digital Twins give rise to high expectations, ambitions, and are being entrusted important societal roles, it is crucial to critically reflect on the nature of Digital Twins. In this article, we therefore philosophically reflect on Digital Twins by critically analysing dominant conceptualisations, the assumptions underlying them, and their normative implications. We dissect the concept and argue that a Digital Twin does not merely fulfil the role of being a representation, but is in fact a steering technique used to direct a physical entity towards certain goals by means of multiple representations. Currently, this steering seems mainly fuelled by a reductionist approach focused on efficiency and optimisation. However, this is not the only direction from which a Digital Twin can be thought and, consequently, designed and deployed. We therefore set an agenda based on a critical understanding of Digital Twins that helps to draw out their beneficial potential, while addressing their potential issues.

scholarly journals Methodology and Tools for Digital Twin Management—The FA3ST Approach

IoT ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-740
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Stojanovic ◽  
Thomas Usländer ◽  
Friedrich Volz ◽  
Christian Weißenbacher ◽  
Jens Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Industrie 4.0 ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Digital Representations ◽  
Lifecycle Model ◽  
Digital Twins ◽  
International Data ◽  
Physical Assets

The concept of digital twins (DT) has already been discussed some decades ago. Digital representations of physical assets are key components in industrial applications as they are the basis for decision making. What is new is the conceptual approach to consider DT as well-defined software entities themselves that follow the whole lifecycle of their physical counterparts from the engineering, operation up to the discharge, and hence, have their own type description, identity, and lifecycle. This paper elaborates on this idea and argues the need for systematic DT engineering and management. After a conceptual description of DT, the paper proposes a DT lifecycle model and presents methodologies and tools for DT management, also in the context of Industrie 4.0 concepts, such as the asset administration shell (AAS), the international data spaces (IDS), and IEC standards (such as OPC UA and AML). As a tool example for the support of DT engineering and management, the Fraunhofer-advanced AAS tools for digital twins (FA3ST) are presented in more detail.

scholarly journals Prospective approaches to predictive modeling of degradation processes of track superstructure elements and its application in creating digital twins

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 251-259
Author(s):  
O. A. Syslov ◽  
V. I. Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Railway Track ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
State Action ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Digital Twins ◽  
Priority Task ◽  
Passport Data ◽  
Modern Economic

It’s impossible to use digital technologies without using the amount of information coming from various systems designed to manage the transportation process and plan its work, taking into account modern economic requirements and resource constraints. Digital twins are currently the most promising tool for solving the problems of managing technically rich multi-level assets, which include railway transport. The track facilities are one of the most expensive assets, and the issues of organizing the management of the maintenance of the railway track are very acute, since they are directly related to the safety of train traffic, therefore, the development of a digital twin of the railway track is a priority task for track science. A digital twin of a railway track should contain elements of BigData technology in the form of arrays of diagnostic data coming online from mobile and stationary diagnostic tools, an array of passport data about the track device, as well as a set of models that can convert this data into matrices “state — action”, suitable for making organizational and technical decisions on the management of the track complex, starting from the level of linear enterprises and ending with network tasks. The article presents models that can be taken as a foundation for building digital twins of a railway track. The results of verification and approbation of the proposed models in the “Neyroekspert-Put’” software package are also presented.

scholarly journals Modelling for Digital Twins—Potential Role of Surrogate Models

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Ágnes Bárkányi ◽  
Tibor Chován ◽  
Sándor Németh ◽  
János Abonyi
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Surrogate Models ◽  
Uncertain Information ◽  
Industrial Case Study ◽  
Continuous Processes ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Box Models ◽  
Digital Twins

The application of white box models in digital twins is often hindered by missing knowledge, uncertain information and computational difficulties. Our aim was to overview the difficulties and challenges regarding the modelling aspects of digital twin applications and to explore the fields where surrogate models can be utilised advantageously. In this sense, the paper discusses what types of surrogate models are suitable for different practical problems as well as introduces the appropriate techniques for building and using these models. A number of examples of digital twin applications from both continuous processes and discrete manufacturing are presented to underline the potentials of utilising surrogate models. The surrogate models and model-building methods are categorised according to the area of applications. The importance of keeping these models up to date through their whole model life cycle is also highlighted. An industrial case study is also presented to demonstrate the applicability of the concept.

scholarly journals An Enabling Open-Source Technology for Development and Prototyping of Production Systems by Applying Digital Twinning

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Robert Kazała ◽  
Sławomir Luściński ◽  
Paweł Strączyński ◽  
Albena Taneva
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Twin System ◽  
Digital Twins ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Automation And Control ◽  
And Control

This article presents the most valuable and applicable open-source tools and communication technologies that may be employed to create models of production processes by applying the concept of Digital Twins. In recent years, many open-source technologies, including tools and protocols, have been developed to create virtual models of production systems. The authors present the evolution and role of the Digital Twin concept as one of the key technologies for implementing the Industry 4.0 paradigm in automation and control. Based on the presented structured review of valuable open-source software dedicated to various phases and tasks that should be realised while creating the whole Digital Twin system, it was demonstrated that the available solutions cover all aspects. However, the dispersion, specialisation, and lack of integration cause this software to usually not be the first choice to implement DT. Therefore, to successfully create full-fledged models of Digital Twins by proceeding with proposed open-source solutions, it is necessary to make additional efforts due to integration requirements.

scholarly journals The role of dynamics in digital twins and its problem-tailored representation

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 10556-10561
Author(s):  
Chiara Cimino ◽  
Gianni Ferretti ◽  
Alberto Leva
Keyword(s):  
Digital Twins

scholarly journals Total pancreatectomy and pancreatic fistula: friend or foe?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Salvia ◽  
Gabriella Lionetto ◽  
Giampaolo Perri ◽  
Giuseppe Malleo ◽  
Giovanni Marchegiani
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Pancreatic Fistula ◽  
Total Pancreatectomy ◽  
Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Perioperative Outcomes ◽  
Surgical Morbidity ◽  
Pancreatic Anastomosis ◽  
Promising Tool

AbstractPostoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) still represents the major driver of surgical morbidity after pancreaticoduodenectomy. The purpose of this narrative review was to critically analyze current evidence supporting the use of total pancreatectomy (TP) to prevent the development of POPF in patients with high-risk pancreas, and to explore the role of completion total pancreatectomy (CP) in the management of severe POPF. Considering the encouraging perioperative outcomes, TP may represent a promising tool to avoid the morbidity related to an extremely high-risk pancreatic anastomosis in selected patients. Surgical management of severe POPF is only required in few critical scenarios. In this context, even if anecdotal, CP might play a role as last resort in expert hands.

scholarly journals Toward a Better Understanding of Metal Nanoparticles, a Novel Strategy from Eucalyptus Plants

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 929
Author(s):  
Hanadi Sawalha ◽  
Rambod Abiri ◽  
Ruzana Sanusi ◽  
Noor Azmi Shaharuddin ◽  
Aida Atiqah Mohd Noor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metal Nanoparticles ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Ideal Candidate ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Novel Strategy ◽  
The Ideal

Nanotechnology is a promising tool that has opened the doors of improvement to the quality of human’s lives through its potential in numerous technological aspects. Green chemistry of nanoscale materials (1–100 nm) is as an effective and sustainable strategy to manufacture homogeneous nanoparticles (NPs) with unique properties, thus making the synthesis of green NPs, especially metal nanoparticles (MNPs), the scientist’s core theme. Researchers have tested different organisms to manufacture MNPs and the results of experiments confirmed that plants tend to be the ideal candidate amongst all entities and are suitable to synthesize a wide variety of MNPs. Natural and cultivated Eucalyptus forests are among woody plants used for landscape beautification and as forest products. The present review has been written to reflect the efficacious role of Eucalyptus in the synthesis of MNPs. To better understand this, the route of extracting MNPs from plants, in general, and Eucalyptus, in particular, are discussed. Furthermore, the crucial factors influencing the process of MNP synthesis from Eucalyptus as well as their characterization and recent applications are highlighted. Information gathered in this review is useful to build a basis for new prospective research ideas on how to exploit this woody species in the production of MNPs. Nevertheless, there is a necessity to feed the scientific field with further investigations on wider applications of Eucalyptus-derived MNPs.

scholarly journals The Role of Digital Twins in the Fulfilment Logistics Chain

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 10574-10578
Author(s):  
Cosimo Piancastelli ◽  
Mario Tucci
Keyword(s):  
Digital Twins

Walking, knowing, and the limits of the map: performing participatory cartographies in indigenous landscapes

2021 ◽  
pp. 147447402110344
Author(s):  
Bjørn Sletto ◽  
Gerónimo Barrera de la Torre ◽  
Alexandra Magaly Lamina Luguana ◽  
Davi Pereira Júnior
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Participatory Mapping ◽  
Participatory Processes ◽  
Indigenous Methodologies ◽  
Critical Understanding ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Post-representational cartography views maps as inherently unstable and unfinished, always in the making and thus singularly open for refolding and re-presentation. This perspective on maps calls for greater attention to the performances, negotiations, and contestations that occur during the ongoing production of maps, particularly in cases where maps are developed during collective, collaborative, and participatory processes in indigenous landscapes riven by conflict and struggle. In the following, we examine the role of walking for the continual (re)making of participatory maps, specifically engaging with work in indigenous methodologies to consider how an emphasis on performativity in map-makings may foster a post-representational perspective on indigenous cartographies. We understand walking as map-making, a form of knowledge production generated by performative and situated storytelling along paths and in places filled with meaning. Drawing on a critical understanding of ‘invitation’ and ‘crossing’, we build on our experiences from participatory mapping projects in Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil to explore the ways in which the material, performative crossings of bodies through indigenous landscapes may inspire new forms of knowledge production and destabilize Cartesian cartographic colonialities.

Integrated Coastal Management: The Role of Law and Lawyers

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-522
Author(s):  
Brady Coleman ◽  
Robert Beckman
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Management ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Management Programme ◽  
Integrated Coastal Management ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Coastal Resource ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Understanding

AbstractIntegrated coastal management (ICM) programmes are being planned, formulated and implemented in coastal States all over the world. To date, however, ICM has been seen as more in the realm of policy-makers, managers, scientists, coastal resource economists, and others, rather than in the realm of lawyers. This article reveals how law and lawyers should play an absolutely essential role at all stages of the ICM process. Ideally, ICM legal consultants will have a broad range of knowledge and experience in both international legal treaties as well as in certain fundamental national law principles, so that coastal zone policies will be designed and carried out with a critical understanding of the laws and institutions needed for the long-term success of an integrated coastal management programme.

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