Digital Twins for Manufacturing Using UML and Behavioral Specifications

Mohammad Azangoo, Amir Taherkordi, Jan Olaf Blech

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientificpeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)
351 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Using digital twins, physical manufacturing objects can be virtualized and represented as digital models which are seamlessly integrated in both the physical and the digital space. This allows to simulate, verify and optimize production systems, from the logistical aspects to the manufacturing process and the involved components. A key challenge, in this area, is how to describe digital twins in complex manufacturing systems such that all physical details, processes, and verification needs are modeled at an appropriate and efficient abstraction level, e.g., modeling and detecting divers faults in production processes. To address this challenge, in this paper we present our work on modeling digital twins of manufacturing facilities using UML. UML class diagrams are used to describe static dependencies between entities, as well as to monitor and analyze the dynamic verification and quality aspects of manufacturing such as fault detection and consistency checks. Utilizing the key relevant features of UML in our approach, the designed class diagrams are used and enriched with behavioral models serving as digital twins which can be updated by live data from the manufacturing plant. We present a small example based on simulation programs and a demonstrator. The presented modeling approach and example provide useful insights to UML-based design of digital twins in complex manufacturing systems.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 25th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, ETFA 2020
PublisherIEEE
Pages1035-1038
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781728189567
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2020
MoE publication typeA4 Conference publication
EventIEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation - Vienna, Austria
Duration: 8 Sept 202011 Sept 2020
Conference number: 25
https://www.ieee-etfa.org/

Publication series

NameProceedings IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation
PublisherIEEE
ISSN (Print)1946-0740
ISSN (Electronic)2379-9560

Conference

ConferenceIEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation
Abbreviated titleETFA
Country/TerritoryAustria
CityVienna
Period08/09/202011/09/2020
Internet address

Keywords

  • Automation
  • Digital twin
  • Factory of the future
  • Industry 4.0
  • OPC UA
  • RFID
  • Simulation model
  • UML

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