An Empirical Study of Human-Digital Twin Interaction in Geographically Distributed Settings

Short supply chains require proper planning and decision-support mechanisms that integrate the needs of producers and policymakers. Digital twins offer a potential solution, but research in this area is still evolving. Two research objectives are addressed in this paper: (1) design a geographically distributed digital twin for local food products with protected designation of origin, and (2) evaluate human-digital twin interactions. Design science research was the selected research approach, and the evaluation included semi-structured interviews with GEOfood producers and an expert from Estrela UNESCO Global Geopark. The results confirmed the prototype’s usefulness and usability for planning and monitoring a short food supply chain of cheese production. Our work highlights the need to support product traceability, balance rigorous process monitoring with predictive capabilities, and enable short- vs. long-chain analysis at the territorial level. Human-digital twin interaction studies are crucial due to the increased complexity and distribution of the physical twin elements. Our work contributes to this line of research in the context of regional food chains, including a dashboard design and “what if” simulations. It reveals the advantages and challenges of interacting with digital twins that span the organizational borders and serve the interests of different stakeholders.