Architecture Concepts of Digital Twins

Abstract

The architecture of a system provides insight into its fundamental organization, including its components and their interactions from a generic point of view. In this chapter, the original idea of digital twins and their relation to product lifecycle management processes is revisited and applied to categorize a review of selected digital twin applications in the rail domain. It becomes apparent that digital twins designed for different objectives and lifecycle stages require distinct architecture concepts. These concepts are discussed from various architectural perspectives, focusing on key elements of digital twins regarding components, software, and data. The chapter concludes with a discussion of appropriate architecture patterns for digital twins in rail applications, based on the required interaction with their environment and/or other digital twins.