Exploring Digital Twin Dynamics: An Analysis of Structure Configurations

Digital twin (DT) is an important technology to support the realization of the digital transformation, connecting the physical asset to its virtual copy and fostering realtime monitoring, simulation, and decision-support. However, the benefits of DT depend on its intended purpose and application, which is impacted by the design structure configuration that is used for its implementation. This paper discusses the advantages and challenges of considering different organizational structures for the implementation of DTs, namely centralised, hierarchical and decentralised, complemented with a case study that was used to analyse the implementation of DT focusing on centralised and decentralised approaches. Additionally, the paper includes an analysis of the main aspects of DT structures and their design guidelines, the key enabling technologies and the main challenges of distributing DTs.