Integrating ergonomics into the early stages of Digital Twin design: From the design of a Digital Twin for short-distance dairy producers to the definition of a generic and tool-based method

The Digital Twin (DT) is defined as a dynamic virtual representation of an object (product, process or service). The presence of this type of solution is increasing in companies, and inevitably brings about transformations in user activity. However, the design of innovative solutions is still too often technocentric. Ergonomists have a role to play in this type of project, ensuring that the activities and needs of users are taken into account throughout the design process. This calls for common methods and tools to facilitate dialogue between ergonomists and designers. The proposal of this paper is to enhance the approach first established by for the design of a DT with methodological contributions from design ergonomics and prospective ergonomics.