From simulation to experimentable digital twins: Simulation-based development and operation 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…
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The simulation capabilities related to the Digital Twin concept are very useful for planning and projecting products.
“In addition, the simulation capabilities related to the Digital Twin concept are very useful for planning and projecting products [33][34].”
From Digital Twin in the IoT Context: A Survey on Technical Features, Scenarios, and Architectural Models (2020) · cites this paper as [33]
There is a need to create large, continuously running complex systems devoted to predicting Digital Twins' behavior in particular situations or environments.
“This is an important signal of the need to create large, continuously running complex systems devoted to the prediction of Digital Twins' behavior in particular situations or environments [33][191].”
From Digital Twin in the IoT Context: A Survey on Technical Features, Scenarios, and Architectural Models (2020) · cites this paper as [33]
In [33], Digital Twins are embedded in Virtual Testbeds to execute several experiments.
“For instance, in [33] Digital Twins are embedded in Virtual Testbeds in order to execute several experiments.”
From Digital Twin in the IoT Context: A Survey on Technical Features, Scenarios, and Architectural Models (2020) · cites this paper as [33]
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“Schluse et al. [34] 2016 “Digital twins are 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.”
- Authors
- Schluse, M., & Rossmann, J.
- Affiliations
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- ORCID
- Schluse, Michael
- Venue
- 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Systems Engineering (ISSE)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2016-10
- Pages
- 1-6
- OpenAlex
- W2556265720
- Cited by
- 292
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 20.51
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- IEEE International Symposium on Systems Engineering (publishedVersion)
- RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Digital Transformation in Industry
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation Systems
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Flexible and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems
- Keywords
- virtual testbed, digital twin, simulation-based development, complex technical systems, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, system-level simulation, simulation reuse
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