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A digital twin emulator of a modular production system using a data-driven hybrid modeling and simulation approach

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Abstract

Virtual commissioning is a key technology in Industry 4.0 that can address issues faced by engineers during early design phases. The process of virtual commissioning involves the creation of a Digital Twin—a dynamic, virtual representation of a corresponding physical system. The digital twin model can be used for testing and verifying the control system in a simulated virtual environment to achieve rapid set-up and optimization prior to physical commissioning. Additionally, the modular production control systems, can be integrated and tested during or prior to the construction of the physical system. This paper describes the implementation of a digital twin emulator of an automated mechatronic modular production system that is linked with the running programmable logic controllers and allow for exchanging near real-time information with the physical system. The development and deployment of the digital twin emulator involves a novel hybrid simulation- and data-driven modeling approach that combines Discrete Event Simulation and Agent Based Modeling paradigms. The Digital Twin Emulator can support design decisions, test what-if system configurations, verify and validate the actual behavior of the complete system off-line, test realistic reactions, and provide statistics on the system’s performance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr Richard Sack for his helpful suggestions and programming efforts.

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  1. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Auburn University, 3312 Shelby Center, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Konstantinos Mykoniatis & Gregory A. Harris

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  1. Konstantinos Mykoniatis
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Correspondence to Konstantinos Mykoniatis.

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Mykoniatis, K., Harris, G.A. A digital twin emulator of a modular production system using a data-driven hybrid modeling and simulation approach. J Intell Manuf 32, 1899–1911 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-020-01724-5

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