Dissertationen zum Thema „Digital Twin Technology“

Building Information Management and Digital Twin technology with help of Smart lights can optimizethe built environment impacting our health and well-being, by providing the right amount of light at theright time of day. Lighting simulation is challenging, due to the strict requirements to represent reality. Digitaltwin technology will provide a more dynamic two-way feed-back between the physical and the virtual environmentto optimize the lighting environment giving real-time sensor data. The main problem that currently occurswhile evaluating a lighting design made in photorealistic computer visualization is using the appropriate formof their model presentation. However, validation of light simulations has been done multiple times but not manystudies are based on DT-driven light environment evaluation in which not only the realistic representation butalso the exchange of information plays a crucial role. Therefore, the aim is to develop a strategy for demonstratingthe data exchange between a physical and real environment, for a scenario in which an optimal interactionbetween daylight and electric light derives an optimized realization of a given light demand curve. Basedon a quantitative experiment, validation of a Digital Twin was done between a virtual and a physical twin onan existing room using the light simulation tool DIALux evo. Data exchange was optimized for three levels ofgeometrical complexity. The light environment was optimized for interaction between the Digital and RealTwin. Counter to expectations, the results showed that the coarse model is more accurate representation of thephysical counterpart and generates faster data exchange. Defining DT usage purpose reduces time and effortdone on the process of creation. Knowing what data to exchange and how often avoid developers any limitationsor delaying in the process. Future studies can investigate how optimization of data exchange and light environmentcan be achieved with programming and parametric generative design.

In the development stages of a Digital twin of production assets, especially machine tools, real time process monitoring and data gathering proves to be vital. Having a monitoring system that monitors and updates the operators or managers in real time, helps improve productivity in terms of reducing downtime through predictive/preventive analytics and by incorporating in process quality assessment capabilities. When it comes to Real time monitoring of machine tools andprocesses, sensor technologies have proven to be the most effective and widely researched. Years of research and development have paved the way for many smart sensor technologies that come both in built with the machine tools as well as external applications. However, these technologies prove to be expensive and complicated to implement especially for Small and Medium Enterprises. This thesis focuses on evaluating and testing a simple, cost-efficient monitoring system using inexpensive sensor technologies that would help optimize an existing Digital twin setup for machine tools for Small and Medium Enterprises. Experiments with a 5 axis CNC machine tool using different tools and varying operating parameters, materials were performed,and the relevant sensor data were collected, mapped, analysed for accuracy and benchmarking. The thesis also evaluates the integration of this data with the information already collected from other sources, improve existing data reliability, and provides guidelines on this could be transformed usefully to create more value to SME’s.

Smart manufacturing – smart factories creating smart products – is a topic which has arisen in the academic as well as business community. This thesis covers smart manufacturing in the context of lifecycle management. The thesis investigated how the standard Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) could be used to support smart manufacturing and mainly how to develop the underlying system and information infrastructure. Standards, reports and specifications for smart manufacturing were investigated. Several information models were created from these publications which could be used for implementing a proposed solution for the infrastructure.The implementation concerned a use case in the ongoing research project DigIn, and used the developed models to implement a proposed solution in the product lifecycle management software ShareAspace. This was done in order to evaluate how to use the functionality of PLCS and ShareAspace to utilize the solution to support smart manufacturing and update the digital twin. In parallel to this thesis, a sub-project part of the DigIn project was conducted which connected the database to other software in the system as well as to the factory shop floor. The solution used the plant service bus Kafka and REST APIs in order to establish the connection. The functionality of the system regarding the specified required functionality in the publications was then investigated.The solution was found to meet most of the requirements of the publications regarding, among others, lifecycle management, service oriented architecture, non-hierarchical structures and communication capabilities.
Smart tillverkning – smarta fabriker som skapar smarta produkter – är ett ämne som inom det akademiska och affärsmässiga området förekommer alltmer frekvent. Denna uppsats behandlar smart tillverkning i kontexten av Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS). Uppsatsen undersökte hur PLCS kunde utnyttjas för att möjliggöra smart tillverkning, med huvudsakligt fokus på möjliggörandet av den bakomliggande system- och informationsinfrastrukturen för smart tillverkning. Standarder, rapporter och specifikationer för smart tillverkning undersöktes. Flertalet informationsmodeller skapades utifrån dessa publikationer vilka kunde användas för att implementera ett förslag för infrastrukturen.Implementationen hade sin bas i det pågående forskningsprojektet DigIn, och använde de utvecklade modellerna för att implementera en föreslagen lösning i produktlivscykel-mjukvaran ShareAspace. Detta gjordes för att utvärdera hur funktionaliteten i ShareAspace och PLCS skulle kunna användas för att stödja smart tillverkning och uppdatera den digitala tvillingen. Parallellt med denna implementation genomfördes i DigIn ett projekt vilka kopplade samman databasen med annan mjukvara i systemet samt fabriksgolvet. Lösningen använde en Plant Service Bus (Kafka) och REST APIer för att koppla samman dessa. Funktionaliteten av systemet rörande specificerade krav som återfanns i publikationerna undersöktes sedan.Lösningen fanns möta de flesta av de krav som lades fram i de undersökta publikationerna rörande, bland annat, livscykelshantering, tjänsteorienterad arkitektur, icke-hierarkiska strukturer samt kommunikationsmöjligheter.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of how to successfully collaborate on digital platforms in the manufacturing industry by developing a contingency framework. To fulfill this purpose, the following research questions were derived: RQ1: Which challenges arise when collaborating on digital platforms in the manufacturing industry? and RQ2: How can collaboration challenges on digital platforms in the manufacturing industry be managed? Method – The study was conducted as an explorative, inductive single case study of a digital platform. More specifically, the study examined the development process of a digital twin platform created by a large high-technological company and its collaborative actors. In total, 21 interviews were conducted at eight different companies. The respondents all had experience of digital twin platforms, where some were working with digital twins sporadically and others on a daily basis. The data were analyzed through a thematic analysis. Findings – The analysis reveals that actors on digital platforms can face five types of challenges that hinder a successful collaboration: disadvantages of dependency, uncertainty regarding data management, varying customer needs, insufficient work methods, and unsuitable payment models. The analysis also reveals four strategies that can be used to address the challenges: transparency strategy, incentive model strategy, servitization strategy, and control strategy. Moreover, these findings are summarized in a contingency framework that explains which types of challenges that can be addressed with which strategies based on the specific prerequisites of each collaboration. Theoretical and practical implications – The study extends the digital platform literature by providing empirical evidence for several collaboration challenges among the actors on a digital platform, which has previously bee not been studied. Additionally, the study provides evidence of how these challenges can be addressed. Our framework helps manufacturing companies to successfully adopt digital platforms by providing managers with the tools to handle the required collaboration. Limitations and further research – The study is limited by a single case study of a specific digital platform. Thus, to extend the findings, further research that examines other contexts are recommended. Moreover, the establishment of the studied platform is currently in an early phase which limits the study to hypothetical challenges and management methods. To validate the findings, further research that examines a fully developed and implemented platform is recommended.

Along with the evolution of the new technologies such as industrial internet of things (IIoT), big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), etc., the amalgamation between the cyber and physical worlds in the industrial field has become necessary to realize and achieve the smart factory and increase its productivity. The emergence of the Digital Twin (DT) concept as a technology that ties the physical and digital worlds has gained significant attention around the world during the last years. However, this concept is relatively new; the literature related to this concept is limited, and its application is still under development and requires further participation from both the industry and academia. This thesis project presented the main requirements and the steps for building a DT. Three research questions have been formulated and answered separately to fulfill the objective of this research study. The answer to the first two research questions was mainly based on surveying the scientific literature to explore this concept's background, main infrastructure, related technologies, its applications in the manufacturing domain, open issues, and some opportunities and challenges that hinder its implementation. Further, the answer to the last research question is represented in proposing a general methodology with some detailed steps for DT's building process and validating this methodology with an existing case study to show it works in practice. Further, several aspects needed for future work have also been addressed.

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is known to be overwhelmed with resource planning, risk management, and logistic challenges, resulting in design defects, project delivery delays, cost overruns, and contractual disputes. These challenges have instigated research in the application of advanced machine learning algorithms such as Deep learning (DL) to help with diagnostic and prescriptive analysis of causes and preventive measures. Construction 4.0 develops through continuous innovations towards digitalization and intelligence, in order to realize a considerable boost in automation, productivity, and reliability. The Digital Twins, as the next level of planning and process control and automation towards Construction 4.0, will incorporate cognitive features that enable sensing complex and unpredicted behavior and reason about dynamic strategies for process optimization to support decision-making. However, there is still a lack of awareness regarding the real impact of DT integration, DL, and IoT, all connected to self-learning hybrid models with proactive cognitive capabilities for smart planning and construction. This study investigates the potential integration of DT and DL to facilitate smart planning and construction through an explorative analysis to identify and close this gap. Data were collected from global industry experts in a mixed approach with interviews, focus groups, and a survey focusing on the applicability and interoperability of DL integrated DT with decision-support capabilities for process optimization. Based on the results of quantitative and qualitative analyses, a conceptual model of the framework has been developed. The evaluations support that the DL integrated DT model will incorporate cognitive abilities to detect complex and unpredictable actions and reasoning about dynamic process optimization strategies to support decision-making in smart planning and construction.
Pre-study for SPARK-SBE potential project

As organisations adapt to the rigorous demands set by global markets, the supply chains that constitute their logistics networks become increasingly complex. This often has a detrimental effect on the supply chain visibility within the organisation, which may in turn have a negative impact on the core business of the organisation. This paper aims to determine how organisations can benefit in terms of improving their logistical supply chain visibility by implementing a Digital Twin — an all-encompassing virtual representation of the physical assets that constitute the logistics system. Furthermore, challenges related to implementation and the necessary steps to overcome these challenges were examined.  The results of the study are that Digital Twins may prove beneficial to organisations in terms of improving metrics of analytics, diagnostics, predictions and descriptions of physical assets. However, these benefits come with notable challenges — managing implementation and maintenance costs, ensuring proper information modelling, adopting new technology and leading the organisation through the changes that an implementation would entail.  In conclusion, a Digital Twin is a powerful tool suitable for organisations where the benefits outweigh the challenges of the initial implementation. Therefore, careful consideration must be taken to ensure that the investment is worthwhile. Further research is required to determine the most efficient way of introducing a Digital Twin to a logistical supply chain.
I takt med att organisationer anpassar sig till de hårda krav som ställs av den globala marknaden ökar också komplexiteten i deras logistiknätverk. Detta har ofta en negativ effekt på synligheten inom logistikkedjan i organisationen, vilken i sin tur kan ha en negativ påverkan på organisationens kärnverksamhet. Målet med denna studie är att utröna de fördelar som organisationer kan uppnå vad gäller att förbättra synligheten inom deras logistikkedjor genom att implementera en Digital Tvilling — en allomfattande virtuell representation av de fysiska tillgångar som utgör logistikkedjan.  Resultaten av studien är att Digitala Tvillingar kan vara gynnsamma för organisationer när det gäller att förbättra analys, diagnostik, prognoser och beskrivningar av fysiska tillgångar. Implementationen medför dock utmaningar — hantering av implementations- och driftskostnader, utformning av informationsmodellering, anammandet av ny teknik och ledarskap genom förändringsarbetet som en implementering skulle innebära.  Sammanfattningsvis är en Digital Tvilling ett verktyg som lämpar sig för organisationer där fördelarna överväger de utmaningar som tillkommer med implementationen. Därmed bör beslutet om en eventuell implementation endast ske efter noggrant övervägande. Vidare forskning behöver genomföras för att utröna den mest effektiva metoden för att introducera en Digital Tvilling till en logistikkedja.

Digitala tvillingar har på de senaste åren blivit ett väldigt aktuellt och omtalat begrepp. I det här examensarbetet undersöks det om termen enbart är en hype eller om det faktiskt är verktyget för att utveckla olika branscher till något bättre. Projektet fokuserar främst på produktions- och utvecklingsindustrin, men även inom exempelvis stadsplanering och motorsport förklaras det vad digitala tvillingar används till. En viktig del i projektet är även Industri 4.0 och Sakernas Internet. Syftet (och resultatet) för det utförda examensarbetet är att ta reda på vad företag anser gynnsamt, såväl som missgynnsamt med digitala tvillingar, samt fastställa vilka barriärer det finns hos ett företag för att börja använda sig av digitala tvillingar. Syftet är även att utforska hur digitala tvillingar införs i ett företags produktutvecklingsprocess, samt vilken roll en fysisk provning får hos ett företag som introducerar digitala tvillingar. I projektets syfte ingår också att ta reda på mer om digitala tvillingar ur ett utvecklingsperspektiv, för att utreda hur kapaciteten förefaller hos en produkt som är testad och utvecklad i kombination med digital och verklig miljö. Vad finns det för data att utläsa, och i vilka fall finns det potential för en digital tvilling? För att nå önskade resultat med projektet har en tablettmaskin skapats i CAD. Med hjälp av den tredimensionella modellen visas det hur en digital tvilling kan användas för produktionsanläggningar (specifikt process- och tillverkningsindustri) genom att montera sensorer på den tredimensionella modellen, som även ska monteras identiskt på en fysisk motsvarighet. Under projektets genomförande undersöks även Gartners hypekurva och därmed vad som är hype och inte hype. I slutet av rapporten diskuteras bland annat vad som är möjligt att simulera med digitala tvillingar och vad som inte är det. Slutsatsen gällande om en digital tvilling är en hype eller inte, resulterar i att digitala tvillingar är ett verktyg som blir vad det skapas till. Anses en digital tvilling vara en hype, ja då kanske det egentligen är själva förväntningarna som är överskattade, och inte den digitala tvillingen i sig.
Digital twins have in recent years become a very current and discussed concept. This thesis examines whether the term is merely a hype or whether it is the tool for developing different industries for something better. The project focuses mainly on the manufacturing and development industry, but also what digital twins are used for in e.g. urban planning and motorsport. An important part of the project is also Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). The purpose (and result) of this Bachelor thesis is to find out what companies consider favourable, as well as unfavourable with digital twins, and to determine what barriers a company encounters to start using digital twins. The purpose is also to explore how digital twins are introduced into a company's product development process, as well as which role a physical test at a company that introduces digital twins has. The purpose of the project also includes finding out more about digital twins from a development perspective, to investigate how the capacity of a product tested and developed in combination with digital and real environment appears. What kind of data is there to read, and in what cases is there a potential for a digital twin? To achieve the desired results, a tablet machine has been created in CAD. The threedimensional model shows how a digital twin can be used for production facilities (specific process- and manufacturing industry) by mounting sensors on the three-dimensional model, which should also be mounted equally on a physical counterpart. During the project's implementation, Gartner's hype curve is also examined and thus what is hype and not hype. At the end of the report there is a discussion including e.g. what is possible to simulate with digital twins and what is not. The conclusion regarding whether a digital twin is a hype or not, results in digital twins being a tool that becomes what it is created for. Is a digital twin considered a hype, well then maybe it is actually the expectations that are overestimated, and not the digital twin itself.

More dynamic markets, shorter product life cycles and comprehensive variant management are challenges that dominate today's market. These maxims apply to the automotive sector, which is currently highly exposed to trade wars, changing mobility patterns and the emergence of new technologies and competitors. To meet these challenges, this thesis presents the creation of a digital twin of an existing production line of electric motors using discrete event simulation. Based on a detailed literature research, a step-by-step establishment of the simulation model of the production line using the software Plant Simulation is presented and argued. Finally, different experiments are carried out with the created model to show how a production line can be examined and optimized by means ofsimulation using different parameters. Within the scope of the different experiments regarding the number of workpiece carriers, number of operators as well as buffer sizes, the line was examined concerning the increase of the output. Furthermore, the simulation model was used to make decisions for future investments in additional XXX machines. Four different scenarios were examined and optimized. By examining the different parameters, optimization potentials of XXX% in the first scenario and up to XXX% in the fourth scenario were achieved. Finally, it was proven that the developed simulation model can be used as a tool for optimizing an existing production line and can generate useful investment information. Beyond that, the development of the simulation model can be employed to investigate further business questions at hand for the specific production line in question.
Mer dynamiska marknader, kortare produktlivscykler och omfattande varianthantering är utmaningar som dominerar dagens marknad. Dessa maximer gäller bilindustrin, som för närvarande är mycket utsatt för handelskrig, förändrade rörlighetsmönster och framväxten av ny teknik och nya konkurrenter. För att möta dessa utmaningar innebär denna avhandling skapandet av en digital tvilling av en befintlig produktionslinje av elmotorer med diskret händelsesimulering. Baserat på en detaljerad litteraturforskning presenteras och argumenteras en steg-för-steg-etablering av simuleringsmodellen för produktionslinjen med hjälp av programvaran Plant Simulation. Slutligen utförs olika experiment med den skapade modellen för att visa hur en produktionslinje kan undersökas och optimeras med hjälp av simulering med hjälp av olika parametrar. Inom ramen för de olika experimenten när det gäller antalet arbetsstyckesbärare, antalet operatörer samt buffertstorlekar undersöktes linjen om ökningen av produktionen. Dessutom användes simuleringsmodellen för att fatta beslut för framtida investeringar i ytterligare hårnålsmaskiner. Fyra olika scenarier undersöktes och optimerades. Genom att undersöka de olika parametrarna uppnåddes optimeringspotentialer på XXX % i det första scenariot och upp till XXX % i det fjärde scenariot. Slutligen bevisades det att den utvecklade simuleringsmodellen kan användas som ett verktyg för att optimera en befintlig produktionslinje och kan generera användbar investeringsinformation. Utöver detta kan utvecklingen av simuleringsmodellen användas för att undersöka ytterligare affärsfrågor till hands för den specifika produktionslinjen i fråga.

Increased focus on sustainability in conjunction with larger demand for individualized and customized products are presenting the manufacturing industry with new challenges in production cycle management and sustainable processes. Digital Twin Technology is an emerging technology and could be an answer to these challenges. With wide-spread recognition in industry and academia, Digital Twin Technology can play a key role in enabling manufacturers to adapt to changes. M. Grieves first introduced the term “Digital Twin” during a course held at University of Michigan 2003, and described the Digital Twin as a high-fidelity real-time virtual representation of a product or a process (Grieves, 2014). Grieves stated that a Digital Twin consists of three main parts: 1) physical products in real space, 2) virtual products in virtual space, and 3) the connections between the physical and virtual. NASA later defined the Digital Twin more precisely as a “Multiphysics, multiscale, probabilistic, ultra-fidelity simulation that reflects, in a timely manner, the state of a corresponding twin based on the historical data, real-time sensor data, and physical model” (Glaessgen & Stargel, 2012). Research on Digital Twin Technology, and applications of Digital Twins in industry have demonstrated the potential of Digital Twins in industrial production, from design all through manufacturing and shipping. General Electric got promising results from applying Digital Twins to wind farms, while several independent research groups at various universities developed Digital Twins of different products and processes (GE Renewable Energy, 2016) (Vachálek, et al., 2017) (Tao & Zhang, 2017) (Biesinger, et al., 2018) (Moreno, et al., 2017). Nevertheless, there are still many challenges to overcome, one of the challenges being how to properly process the vast amount of data collected from sensors and actuators in industry, and another challenge being how to develop Digital Twins in a generic way (Tao, et al., 2019). Many articles have been written about how Digital Twins can answer these challenges in various ways, but I have found no article which brings the application of Digital Twins throughout the entire manufacturing process to light. This paper aims to do that, and presents the Digital Twin, in the context of the Design, Production Planning and Manufacturing phases of production. The latest findings in academia and industry function as a base for this literature study, and the focus is on applying Digital Twins throughout the manufacturing process to improve current methods, thus achieving more sustainable manufacturing. Several independent research groups found that application of Digital Twins in the industrial production process leads to better use of operational data and more informed, rational decisions (Biesinger, et al., 2018) (Hochhalter, et al., 2014). Vachálek et al. found that applying Digital Twins to a production line shortens and streamlines production cycles, and reduces the time to introduce new products and to detect inefficient settings of processes (Vachálek, et al., 2017). Tao et al. found that one fourth of the most relevant journal and conference articles about Digital Twin Technology published from 2003 to 2018 reported the application of Digital Twins in the context of Product Health Management, which is considerably more than any other area (Tao, et al., 2019). However, in this literature study I have found that the application of Digital Twins in early design phases is promising. The Digital Twin can make data interaction more intuitive for the designer and ensure that customer needs are taken into consideration when developing the next generation of products (Tao, et al., 2019). Moreover, compliance verification can be performed on the Digital Twin instead of on the physical counterpart, resulting in less tedious testing and shorter time-to-market. This enables companies that deploy Digital Twins to be more flexible and receptive to changing circumstances. General Electric is one of the companies who have deployed Digital Twins, and consequently reported a 16% increase in annual energy production at one of their customer’s wind farm through the use of Digital Twins in their Digital Wind Farm initiative (GE Renewable Energy, 2016). Lastly, in this paper I present the current challenges that Digital Twins as a research field and technology is facing, and what data related issues are currently limiting the advancement of Digital Twins.
Ökat fokus på hållbarhet tillsammans med ökad efterfrågan på individualiserade produkter innebär nya utmaningar för tillverkningsindustrin. Digital Tvilling-Teknologi är en framväxande teknologi som kan svara på dessa utmaningar. Med ett brett erkännande inom industrin och det vetenskapliga samfundet, kan Digitala Tvillingar komma att ha en nyckelroll för tillverkningsindustrin i att anpassa sig till förändringar. M. Grieves introducerade termen ”Digital Twin” under en föreläsning vid University of Michigan 2003, och beskrev den Digitala Tvillingen som en högupplöst virtuell realtidsrepresentation av en produkt eller process (Grieves, 2014). Grieves konstaterade att en Digital Tvilling består av tre huvuddelar: 1) fysisk produkt i den fysiska världen, 2) virtuell produkt i den virtuella världen, och 3) sammankopplingarna mellan det fysiska och det virtuella. NASA definierade senare den Digitala Tvillingen mer precist som en “Multifysisk, flerskalig, probabilistisk, ultraupplöst simulering som på kort tid återspeglar tillståndet för en motsvarande tvilling baserad på historiska data, driftsdata och fysisk modell” (Glaessgen & Stargel, 2012). Forskning inom Digital Tvilling-Teknologi och applicering av Digitala Tvillingar inom industrin har visat teknologins potential inom industriell produktion, från konstruktion till tillverkning och distribution. General Electric fick lovande resultat genom att använda Digital Tvillingar för vindkraftsparker, medan flera oberoende forskningsgrupper vid olika universitet utvecklade Digitala Tvillingar för olika produkter och processer (GE Renewable Energy, 2016) (Vachálek, et al., 2017) (Tao & Zhang, 2017) (Biesinger, et al., 2018) (Moreno, et al., 2017). Icke desto mindre, finns det fortfarande många utmaningar att lösa, däribland hur man på ett adekvat sätt kan bearbeta större mängder data och hur man kan ta fram Digitala Tvillingar på ett standardiserat sätt (Tao, et al., 2019). I många vetenskapliga artiklar har det skrivits om hur Digitala Tvillingar kan hantera dessa utmaningar, men jag har inte funnit någon artikel som tydliggör användningen av Digitala Tvillingar genom hela tillverkningsprocessen. Den här uppsatsen syftar till att presentera den Digitala Tvillingen inom konstruktion-, produktionsplanerings- och tillverkningsfasen. De senaste industriella och akademiska framstegen läggern en grund för litteraturstudien, och fokus ligger på användningen av Digitala Tvillingar genom hela tillverkningsprocessen för att förbättra nuvarande metoder och därmed uppnå mer effektiv och således mer hållbar tillverkning. Flera oberoende forskningsgrupper fann att implementeringen av Digitala Tvillingar inom tillverkningsprocessen leder till bättre användning av driftsdata och mer informerade och rationella beslut (Biesinger, et al., 2018) (Hochhalter, et al., 2014). Vachálek et al. fann att anvädningen av Digitala Tvillingar för en produktionslina kortade ner produktionscykler och reducerade både tiden för att implementera nya produkter och för att tydliggöra ineffektiva processinställningar (Vachálek, et al., 2017). F. Tao o.a. fann att en fjärdedel av de mest relevanta publikationerna om Digital Tvillingteknologi mellan 2003 och 2018 var om tillämpningen av Digitala Tvillingar inom Product Health Management, vilket är långt fler än inom något annat område (Tao, et al., 2019). Samtidigt, visar denna litteraturstudie på att användningen av Digitala Tvillingar inom konstruktion också är lovande. Digitala Tvillingar kan göra interaktionen med data mer intuitiv för konstruktören och säkerställa att hänsyn tas till kundens behov i samband med utvecklingen av nästa generations produkter (Tao, et al., 2019). Dessutom kan verifiering av produkter utföras på den Digitala Tvillingen istället för på den fysiska produkten, vilket leder till kortare tid för att få ut produkten på marknaden. Detta gör företag som använder sig av Digitala Tvillingar mer anpassningsbara och mottagliga för förändringar. General Electric är ett av företagen som har tillämpat Digital Tvillingteknologi, och redovisade en 16%-ig ökning med av den årliga energiproduktionen hos en av sina kunders vindkraftsfarmar tack vare användningen av Digitala Tvillingar inom deras Digital Wind Farm-initiativ (GE Renewable Energy, 2016). Slutligen presenterar den här uppsatsen nuvarande utmaningar med Digitala Tvillingar och vilka datarelaterade svårigheter som bromsar teknologins utveckling.

Industrial revolutions bring dynamic change to industry through major technological advances (Freeman & Louca, 2002). People and companies must take advantage of industrial revolutions in order to reap its benefits (Bruland & Smith, 2013). Currently, the 4th industrial revolution, industry is transforming advanced manufacturing and engineering capabilities through digital transformation. Company X’s production system was investigated in the research. Detailed evaluation the production process revealed bottlenecks and inefficiency (Melton, 2005). Using the Digital Twin and Discrete Event Factory Simulation, the researcher gathered factory and production input data to simulate the process and provide a system level, holistic view of Company X’s production system to show how factory simulation enables process improvement. The National Academy of Engineering supports Discrete Event Factory Simulation as advancing Personalized Learning through its ability to meet the unique problem solving needs of engineering and manufacturing process through advanced simulation technology (National Academy of Engineering, 2018). The directed project applied two process optimization experiments to the production system through the simulation tool, 3DExperience wiht the DELMIA application from Dassualt Systemes (Dassault, 2018). The experiment resulted in a 10% improvement in production time and a 10% reduction in labor costs due to the optimization

O acelerado e constante desenvolvimento tecnológico vem contribuindo cada vez mais para a criação de novas soluções no ramo da automação. Com o surgir do conceito da Indústria 4.0, as empresas procuram fazer parte da vanguarda desta revolução, no âmbito de assegurar qualquer vantagem competitiva. O digital twin, como pilar da Indústria 4.0, revela-se crucial na implementação deste conceito e vem ganhando uma grande popularidade na indústria transformadora. Nos dias de hoje, é imperativo aos gestores de produção compreender o estado atual - em tempo real - dos recursos operacionais. Neste sentido, os digital twins de processos procuram replicar o comportamento de processos de sistemas reais, a qualquer momento. Dado que grande parte dos digital twins desenvolvidos são projetados para cenários específicos, surge o interessem em criar uma framework que seja flexível e adaptável a qualquer tipo de processos, com funcionalidades que acrescentem valor ao digital twin. A presente dissertação apresenta uma framework para digital twins de processos que permite monitorizar em tempo real o chão de fábrica, fazer a simulação do futuro a partir de planos de produção e comunicar com serviços inteligentes externos. Efetivamente, a monitorização permite a visualização 3D dos eventos que estão a ocorrer na fábrica, no que se trata do digital twin em particular. O modo de simulação consegue simular o tráfego no chão de fábrica dado um plano de produção introduzido pelo utilizador. Por fim, a comunicação com serviços inteligentes reforça a interoperabilidade da framework, sendo que neste projeto se recorreu a um algoritmo externo que otimiza o plano de produção do utilizador, cujos resultados do makespan são comparados com soluções não otimizadas. Estas 3 componentes são a base da plataforma desenvolvida com que se procura potenciar as capacidades dos digital twins de processos.

O acelerado e constante desenvolvimento tecnológico vem contribuindo cada vez mais para a criação de novas soluções no ramo da automação. Com o surgir do conceito da Indústria 4.0, as empresas procuram fazer parte da vanguarda desta revolução, no âmbito de assegurar qualquer vantagem competitiva. O digital twin, como pilar da Indústria 4.0, revela-se crucial na implementação deste conceito e vem ganhando uma grande popularidade na indústria transformadora. Nos dias de hoje, é imperativo aos gestores de produção compreender o estado atual - em tempo real - dos recursos operacionais. Neste sentido, os digital twins de processos procuram replicar o comportamento de processos de sistemas reais, a qualquer momento. Dado que grande parte dos digital twins desenvolvidos são projetados para cenários específicos, surge o interessem em criar uma framework que seja flexível e adaptável a qualquer tipo de processos, com funcionalidades que acrescentem valor ao digital twin. A presente dissertação apresenta uma framework para digital twins de processos que permite monitorizar em tempo real o chão de fábrica, fazer a simulação do futuro a partir de planos de produção e comunicar com serviços inteligentes externos. Efetivamente, a monitorização permite a visualização 3D dos eventos que estão a ocorrer na fábrica, no que se trata do digital twin em particular. O modo de simulação consegue simular o tráfego no chão de fábrica dado um plano de produção introduzido pelo utilizador. Por fim, a comunicação com serviços inteligentes reforça a interoperabilidade da framework, sendo que neste projeto se recorreu a um algoritmo externo que otimiza o plano de produção do utilizador, cujos resultados do makespan são comparados com soluções não otimizadas. Estas 3 componentes são a base da plataforma desenvolvida com que se procura potenciar as capacidades dos digital twins de processos.

Com o avanço da Indústria 4.0 e do surgimento de novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação tais como o IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), o sector industrial tem procurado cada vez mais, evoluir as suas linhas de produção de modo a atingir a maior eficiência de produção possível. Aliado ao conceito IIoT, o termo Digital Twin e CPS (Cyber Physical System) começam a ganhar elevada relevância em vários sectores, nomeadamente no sector industrial. Apesar de serem conceitos que se podem confundir, o conceito de DT e CPS são aplicados em diferentes domínios. O conceito de CPS relaciona-se com a conexão de duas direções que é possível estabelecer entre o meio físico e o meio digital. Ele utiliza a rede IoT para capturar a informação do meio físico através de sensores e controladores e com esta informação, é possível no meio digital tornar a réplica mais inteligente a fim de conseguir reproduzir o comportamento da entidade física. O conceito de DT é um pouco menos abstrato, comparado com o conceito de CPS, e é o DT que implementa o CPS. O DT utiliza as funcionalidades do CPS para realizar modelos de simulação das entidades físicas de forma a conseguir espelhar a geometria e o comportamento da mesma no meio digital. Com estes modelos digitais é possível realizar uma monitorização e controlo em tempo real das entidades físicas. De forma a aplicar estes conceitos, esta dissertação tem como principal objetivo a implementação de um DT capaz de replicar o comportamento de uma determinada entidade física no meio digital. Dessa forma, através da aplicação web Jurassic Park como plataforma IoT, a dissertação pretende adicionar um conjunto de novas funcionalidades de controlo e monitorização à sua interface-gráfica, de modo a que o utilizador consiga não só observar em tempo real a variação de valores de variáveis previamente subscritas mas também controlar alguns eventos que também foram selecionados pelo utilizador previamente.

Com o avanço da Indústria 4.0 e do surgimento de novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação tais como o IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), o sector industrial tem procurado cada vez mais, evoluir as suas linhas de produção de modo a atingir a maior eficiência de produção possível. Aliado ao conceito IIoT, o termo Digital Twin e CPS (Cyber Physical System) começam a ganhar elevada relevância em vários sectores, nomeadamente no sector industrial. Apesar de serem conceitos que se podem confundir, o conceito de DT e CPS são aplicados em diferentes domínios. O conceito de CPS relaciona-se com a conexão de duas direções que é possível estabelecer entre o meio físico e o meio digital. Ele utiliza a rede IoT para capturar a informação do meio físico através de sensores e controladores e com esta informação, é possível no meio digital tornar a réplica mais inteligente a fim de conseguir reproduzir o comportamento da entidade física. O conceito de DT é um pouco menos abstrato, comparado com o conceito de CPS, e é o DT que implementa o CPS. O DT utiliza as funcionalidades do CPS para realizar modelos de simulação das entidades físicas de forma a conseguir espelhar a geometria e o comportamento da mesma no meio digital. Com estes modelos digitais é possível realizar uma monitorização e controlo em tempo real das entidades físicas. De forma a aplicar estes conceitos, esta dissertação tem como principal objetivo a implementação de um DT capaz de replicar o comportamento de uma determinada entidade física no meio digital. Dessa forma, através da aplicação web Jurassic Park como plataforma IoT, a dissertação pretende adicionar um conjunto de novas funcionalidades de controlo e monitorização à sua interface-gráfica, de modo a que o utilizador consiga não só observar em tempo real a variação de valores de variáveis previamente subscritas mas também controlar alguns eventos que também foram selecionados pelo utilizador previamente.