scholarly journals WHAT IS A DIGITAL TWIN? – DEFINITIONS AND INSIGHTS FROM AN INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDY IN TECHNICAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Trauer ◽  
S. Schweigert-Recksiek ◽  
C. Engel ◽  
K. Spreitzer ◽  
M. Zimmermann

AbstractOver the last two decades, a concept called Digital Twin has evolved rapidly. Yet, there is no unified definition of the term. Based on a literature study and an industrial case study, an overarching definition of Digital twins is presented. Three characteristics were identified – representation of a physical system, bidirectional data exchange, and the connection along the entire lifecycle. Further, three sub-concepts are presented, namely: Engineering Twin, Production Twin, and Operation Twin. The presented paper thus formulates a consistent and detailed definition of Digital Twins.

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Ágnes Bárkányi ◽  
Tibor Chován ◽  
Sándor Németh ◽  
János Abonyi

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.


Author(s):  
Jakob Trauer ◽  
Sebastian Schweigert-Recksiek ◽  
Luis Onuma Okamoto ◽  
Karsten Spreitzer ◽  
Markus Mörtl ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schweigert-Recksiek ◽  
J. Trauer ◽  
C. Engel ◽  
K. Spreitzer ◽  
M. Zimmermann

AbstractA Digital Twin as a virtual representation of a physical system is becoming a key technology. While potential benefits are evident, there is no approach in literature or practice comprehensively supporting its introduction. In an industrial case study, a generic procedure model for the conception and implementation of a Digital Twin was developed. The relations between use cases, usage data, and virtual models resulted in a target concept as well as requirements for the implementation. Thereby, companies can access the potentials of a Digital Twin taking into account their specific situation.


Author(s):  
Amon Göppert ◽  
Lea Grahn ◽  
Jonas Rachner ◽  
Dennis Grunert ◽  
Simon Hort ◽  
...  

AbstractThe demand for individualized products drives modern manufacturing systems towards greater adaptability and flexibility. This increases the focus on data-driven digital twins enabling swift adaptations. Within the framework of cyber-physical systems, the digital twin is a digital model that is fully connected to the physical and digital assets. A digital model must follow a standardization for interoperable data exchange. Established ontologies and meta-models offer a basis in the definition of a schema, which is the first phase of creating a digital twin. The next phase is the standardized and structured modeling with static use-case specific data. The final phase is the deployment of digital twins into operation with a full connection of the digital model with the remaining cyber-physical system. In this deployment phase communication standards and protocols provide a standardized data exchange. A survey on the state-of-the-art of these three digital twin phases reveals the lack of a consistent workflow from ontology-driven definition to standardized modeling. Therefore, one goal of this paper is the design of an end-to-end digital twin pipeline to lower the threshold of creating and deploying digital twins. As the task of establishing a communication connection is highly repetitive, an automation concept by providing structured protocol data is the second goal. The planning and control of a line-less assembly system with manual stations and a mobile robot as resources and an industrial dog as the product serve as exemplary digital twin applications. Along this use-case the digital twin pipeline is transparently explained.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Douthwaite ◽  
B. Lesage ◽  
M. Gleirscher ◽  
R. Calinescu ◽  
J. M. Aitken ◽  
...  

Digital twins offer a unique opportunity to design, test, deploy, monitor, and control real-world robotic processes. In this paper we present a novel, modular digital twinning framework developed for the investigation of safety within collaborative robotic manufacturing processes. The modular architecture supports scalable representations of user-defined cyber-physical environments, and tools for safety analysis and control. This versatile research tool facilitates the creation of mixed environments of Digital Models, Digital Shadows, and Digital Twins, whilst standardising communication and physical system representation across different hardware platforms. The framework is demonstrated as applied to an industrial case-study focused on the safety assurance of a collaborative robotic manufacturing process. We describe the creation of a digital twin scenario, consisting of individual digital twins of entities in the manufacturing case study, and the application of a synthesised safety controller from our wider work. We show how the framework is able to provide adequate evidence to virtually assess safety claims made against the safety controller using a supporting validation module and testing strategy. The implementation, evidence and safety investigation is presented and discussed, raising exciting possibilities for the use of digital twins in robotic safety assurance.


Author(s):  
Andre´s Felipe Melo ◽  
P. John Clarkson

This paper describes a computational model that provides planning information useful for scheduling the design process. The model aims to reduce uncertainty in the design process and with it the risk of rework. The view is taken that planning is concerned with choosing between alternative actions and action sequences, but not with resource allocation. The planning model is based on an explicit representation of the state of the design process, the definition of the design capabilities as a pool of tasks, and on the generation and selection of plans by evaluating their reliability. Classical decision theory is used for evaluating the plans: a state-action net is built and analyzed as a Markov decision process. The model produces plans based on qualified task dependencies. These plans can be used as a basis for manual and automated scheduling. In an example industrial case study, a reduction of over 30% in the expected rework was predicted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Dembski ◽  
Uwe Wössner ◽  
Mike Letzgus ◽  
Michael Ruddat ◽  
Claudia Yamu

Cities are complex systems connected to economic, ecological, and demographic conditions and change. They are also characterized by diverging perceptions and interests of citizens and stakeholders. Thus, in the arena of urban planning, we are in need of approaches that are able to cope not only with urban complexity but also allow for participatory and collaborative processes to empower citizens. This to create democratic cities. Connected to the field of smart cities and citizens, we present in this paper, the prototype of an urban digital twin for the 30,000-people town of Herrenberg in Germany. Urban digital twins are sophisticated data models allowing for collaborative processes. The herein presented prototype comprises (1) a 3D model of the built environment, (2) a street network model using the theory and method of space syntax, (3) an urban mobility simulation, (4) a wind flow simulation, and (5) a number of empirical quantitative and qualitative data using volunteered geographic information (VGI). In addition, the urban digital twin was implemented in a visualization platform for virtual reality and was presented to the general public during diverse public participatory processes, as well as in the framework of the “Morgenstadt Werkstatt” (Tomorrow’s Cities Workshop). The results of a survey indicated that this method and technology could significantly aid in participatory and collaborative processes. Further understanding of how urban digital twins support urban planners, urban designers, and the general public as a collaboration and communication tool and for decision support allows us to be more intentional when creating smart cities and sustainable cities with the help of digital twins. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the presented results and further research directions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.I. Krasikov ◽  
A. N. Kulemin

The digital twin is widely known as a tool for digitalization of a product, but there is no common definition concerning this term. This article discusses the definition and utilization of digital twin. Areas of use, it’s implementation in the product lifecycle and most importantly it’s benefits. The lack of a standardized concept of a digital  twin leads to a misunderstanding between mathematical models and digital twin. Several definitions of digital twin were analyzed and compared with the definition of mathematical model and simulation modelling. The basic concept of areas of use for digital twin is introduced. The differences and similarities between the two definitions were found. The article aims first of all to help the management of digital twins in practical application. Keywords: Digital twin, Mathematical modelling, Mathematical model, Lifecycle of a product, Simulation modelling, Practical use of digital twin, Difference between the digital twin and mathematical model, Simulation.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 8194
Author(s):  
Mehdi Kherbache ◽  
Moufida Maimour ◽  
Eric Rondeau

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is known to be a complex system because of its severe constraints as it controls critical applications. It is difficult to manage such networks and keep control of all the variables impacting their operation during their whole lifecycle. Meanwhile, Digital Twinning technology has been increasingly used to optimize the performances of industrial systems and has been ranked as one of the top ten most promising technological trends in the next decade. Many Digital Twins of industrial systems exist nowadays but only few are destined to networks. In this paper, we propose a holistic digital twinning architecture for the IIoT where the network is integrated along with the other industrial components of the system. To do so, the concept of Network Digital Twin is introduced. The main motivation is to permit a closed-loop network management across the whole network lifecycle, from the design to the service phase. Our architecture leverages the Software Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm as an expression of network softwarization. Mainly, the SDN controller allows for setting up the connection between each Digital Twin of the industrial system and its physical counterpart. We validate the feasibility of the proposed architecture in the process of choosing the most suitable communication mechanism that satisfies the real-time requirements of a Flexible Production System.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mairi Kerin ◽  
Duc Truong Pham ◽  
Jun Huang ◽  
Jeremy Hadall

Abstract A digital twin is a “live” virtual replica of a sensorised component, product, process, human, or system. It accurately copies the entity being modelled by capturing information in real time or near real time from the entity through embedded sensors and the Internet-of-Things. Many applications of digital twins in manufacturing industry have been investigated. This article focuses on the development of product digital twins to reduce the impact of quantity, quality, and demand uncertainties in remanufacturing. Starting from issues specific to remanufacturing, the article derives the functional requirements for a product digital twin for remanufacturing and proposes a UML model of a generic asset to be remanufactured. The model has been demonstrated in a case study which highlights the need to translate existing knowledge and data into an integrated system to realise a product digital twin, capable of supporting remanufacturing process planning.


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