Digital Twin Architecture Design for an Aircraft Seat Mechatronic Testbench

ABSTRACT The optimization of the system development process has long been a significant challenge. In the context of aircraft business class seats, the products are mechatronics systems as they incorporate diverse discipline‐specific components (mechanical, electrical, and electronic). Therefore, their design, manufacturing, and V&V (verification and validation) are complex. The V&V phase typically occurs later in the development process, adhering to the V‐model and ISO 15288 technical processes. However, ensuring system behavior testing early in the development process is essential to prevent extensive rework and physical prototyping iterations. This paper presents an innovative approach integrating virtual testing in the development process of mechatronics systems. This methodology is built upon the traditional V‐model, enhanced by a parallel testing process using the digital twin concept. The digital twin architecture is designed following the model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) approach.