Towards Real-Time Validation of Rail-Guided Shuttles: A Multibody Modelling and Digital Twin Approach

Abstract In the world of multibody dynamics, models describing the behavior of rail-guided vehicle systems usually start from characterizing the body adhesion to a predetermined path, on which the body keeps a specified orientation associated with the spatial track curve. This is also the case of the rail-guided shuttles addressed by this work, which move along a planar path built by a small-size transfer line in a laboratory environment. Firstly, the multibody model of the shuttles to ensure their prescribed motion constraint along the path is described. Secondly, a physics-based 3D simulation software is exploited for the simulation of the shuttles’ kinematics and dynamics in the virtual world. Lastly, the validation and real-time synchronization with the physical system are done via REST API communication. Empirical results of shuttles’ travelling times between the workstations along the path are collected both in the real and simulated system. Results are then compared to test and validate the simulation accuracy. Insights and considerations regarding the role of Digital Twin in the system are also given. In conclusion, possible future improvements are provided.