Abstract:
Digital twins and service-orientated architectures have developed in different research communities, but share some similar target uses. This paper proposes a general architecture that connects aggregations of digital twins with a services network to create digital decision support systems for complex cyber-physical systems. The proposed architecture is intended for complex cyber-physical systems, allows multiple stakeholders to contribute to the development and operation of the system. The architecture provides the ability for the digital system to evolve over time as the physical system evolves and to adapt the functionality of the digital system to information needs and resources change over time. The architecture is expected to be applicable to manufacturing scenarios ranging from SMEs to larger enterprises, and also to areas such as management of complex facilities (such as a university campus), water distribution systems and railway infrastructure. Some challenges associated with the proposed architecture, related to the integration of digital twin and service-oriented architectures, are outlined in the paper. Β© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
