TwinXR: Method for using digital twin descriptions in industrial eXtended reality applications

Joyce Tu*, Juuso Autiosalo, Riku Ala-Laurinaho, Chao Yang, Pauli Salminen, Kari Tammi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
42 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Digital twins (DTs) and eXtended Reality (XR) are two core technological enablers for engineering in the Metaverse that can accelerate the human-centric Industry 5.0 transformation. The digital twin technology provides a digital representation of a physical asset with data linkages for inspection, monitoring, and prediction of complex processes or systems, while eXtended reality offers real-and-virtual combined environments for human users to interact with machines. However, the synergies between digital twins and eXtended reality remain understudied. This work addresses this research gap by introducing a novel method “TwinXR” that leverages ontology-based descriptions of Digital twins, i.e., digital twin documents, in industrial eXtended reality applications. To ease the use of the TwinXR method, we publish a Unity package that allows data flow and conversion between eXtended reality applications and digital twin documents on the server. Finally, the work applies the TwinXR method in two industrial eXtended reality applications involving overhead cranes and a robot arm to demonstrate the use and indicate the validity of the method. We conclude that the TwinXR method is a promising way to advance the synergies between digital twins and eXtended reality: For eXtended reality, TwinXR enables efficient and scalable eXtended reality development; For digital twins, TwinXR unlocks and demonstrates the potential of digital twins for data interchange and system interoperation. Future work includes introducing more detailed principles of Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph, as well as developing factory-level TwinXR-compatible applications.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1019080
Number of pages14
JournalFrontiers in Virtual Reality
Volume4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jan 2023
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • eXtended reality
  • digital twins
  • metaverse
  • ontology
  • metadata
  • cyber manufacturing
  • human-machine interaction

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