From simulation to experimentable digital twins: Simulation-based development and operation of complex technical systems

TLDR

Robotics has evolved into a highly interdisciplinary field, and eRobotics uses Virtual Testbeds—simulation environments that model complex systems and their interactions—to design and optimize before real deployment, while Industry 4.0’s Digital Twins provide virtual representations that act as intelligent nodes in the IoT. The study proposes Experimentable Digital Twins, combining Virtual Testbeds and Digital Twins, to serve as the core of simulation‑based development processes, enabling detailed system‑level simulations and the realization of intelligent systems. Experimentable Digital Twins are built by first designing, programming, controlling, and optimizing complex technical systems in Virtual Testbeds, then integrating them into Digital Twins that communicate with real environments, thereby streamlining development and enabling intelligent operation. Using multiple models and simulations across scenarios markedly reduces effort throughout the life cycle of complex technical systems.

Abstract

Way beyond its industrial roots, robotics evolved to be a highly interdisciplinary field with a variety of applications in a smart world. The eRobotics methodology addresses this evolution by providing platforms where roboticist can exchange ideas and collaborate with experts from other disciplines for developing complex technical systems and automated solutions. Virtual Testbeds are the central method in eRobotics, where complex technical systems and their interaction with prospective working environments are first designed, programmed, controlled and optimized in simulation before commissioning the real system. On the other hand, Industry 4.0 concepts promote the notion of “Digital Twins”, virtual substitutes of real world objects consisting of virtual representations and communication capabilities making up smart objects acting as intelligent nodes inside the internet of things and services. Combining these two approaches, Virtual Testbeds and Digital Twins, leads to a new kind of “Experimentable Digital Twins” breaking new ground in the simulation-based development and operation of complex technical systems. In this contribution, we describe how such “Experimentable Digital Twins” can act as the very core of simulation-based development processes streamlining the development process, enabling detailed simulations at system level and realizing intelligent systems. Besides this, the multiple use of models and simulations in various scenarios significantly reduces the effort for the use of simulation technology throughout the life cycle of complex technical systems.