An Agent Design Pattern Catalogue for the Entanglement of Digital Twins

Abstract

The entanglement property is an essential property of Digital Twins (DTs), enabling seamless interaction between the physical twin and its DT. Despite the increasing adoption of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) in DT development, there is a lack of structured guidance on how agent design can support different levels of entanglement. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a catalogue of agent design patterns tailored to support weak, simple, and strong entanglement in DTs. Each pattern is aligned with established design patterns in MAS literature. A decision model is also introduced to guide practitioners in selecting appropriate patterns based on the essential aspects of entanglement: connectivity, promptness, and association. The proposed patterns and model were applied in a real-world case study involving the design of a DT to manage study sessions for children with ADHD, demonstrating their effectiveness and practical value. The results support the feasibility and utility of our catalogue of design patterns for the entanglement of the DT.