A Multi-Purpose Simulation Layer for Digital Twin Applications in Mechatronic Systems

The rising complexity of industrial systems following the Industry 4.0 era involves new challenges and the need for innovative solutions. In the context of arising digital technologies, Digital Twins represent a holistic solution to overcome heterogeneity and to achieve remote and dynamic control of cyber–physical systems. In common reference architectures, decision-making modules are usually integrated for system and process optimization. This work aims at introducing the adoption of a multi-purpose simulation module in a Digital Twin environment, with the objective of proving its versatility for different scopes. This is implemented in a relevant laboratory environment, strongly employed for the test and validation of mechatronic solutions. The paper starts from revising the common techniques adopted for decision-making modules in Digital Twin frameworks, proposing then a multi-purpose approach based on physics simulation. Performance profiling of the simulation environment demonstrates the potential of real-time-capable simulation while also revealing challenges related to computational load and communication latency. The outcome of this work is to provide the reader with an exemplary modular arrangement for the integration of such module in Digital Twin applications, highlighting challenges and limitations related to computational effort and communication.