Systems Architecture Design Pattern Catalog for Developing Digital Twins

Abstract

A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical entity to which it is remotely connected. A digital twin can provide a rich representation of the corresponding physical entity and enables sophisticated control for various purposes. Although the concept of the digital twin is largely known, designing digital twins based systems has not yet been fully explored. In practice, digital twins can be applied in different ways leading to different architectural designs. To guide the architecture design process, we provide a pattern-oriented approach for architecting digital twin-based Internet of Things (IoT) systems. To this end, we propose a catalog of digital twin architecture design patterns that can be reused in the broad context of systems engineering. The patterns are described using the well-known documentation template and support the various phases in the systems engineering life cycle process. For illustrating the application of digital twin patterns, we adopt a case study in the agriculture and food domain.

The Fundamental Approach of the Digital Twin Application in Railway Turnouts with Innovative Monitoring of Weather Conditions

“…Additionally, digital coupling of turnout safety risks based on digital twin technology is possible [ 28 ]. In practice, digital twins can be applied in different ways leading to different designs [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Critical Infrastructures: Reliability, Resilience and Wastage

“…Whilst not part of the critical infrastructure classification in [1], homes (that is, residential properties) are also included in the investigation, as other works (for example, [83,84]) discuss the interlinkage of residential properties with critical infrastructures and, therefore, they form part of the discussion. As Figure 5 depicts, waste (27), energy (17), food (13) and water (8) are dominant trends within the studies. The lowest representation was ICT, Telecom and Homes with one article each.…”

“…Going forwards, a synergy should be established between (i) upgraded infrastructure and (ii) a reduction in waste behaviours (i.e, excess) to cater for strain and the future demands placed by urbanisation. Relating to point (i), suitable technologies discussed in the literature include integrating AI/machine learning techniques [15], IoT sensors [16], digital twinning technologies [17,18], smart grid [19] and solar and wind [20]. Regarding point (ii), as discussed later in the findings, a suitable approach for eliminating wastegenerating behaviour is through education and developing an awareness of the impact waste behaviour has on the availability of critical services.…”

Toward the Next Generation of Digitalization in Agriculture Based on Digital Twin Paradigm

“…However, researches needed to fuse the developed techniques along with the IoT, edge-computing, AI, data analytics, and simulation techniques that could lead to development of a digital twin paradigm is in an early stage and needs to be addressed in future studies. Furthermore, researchers need to consider the practical challenges of digital twin-based systems in soil and irrigation as digital twins are multiand interdisciplinary techniques and require systems engineering perspectives [90].…”