Currently, the digital twin is an emerging technology which is being discussed in several domains. The concept is based on modeling assets with all their geometrical data, kinematic functionality and logical behavior using digital tools. The digital twin refers directly to the physical asset and allows it to be simulated, controlled and improved. According to Gartner, “less than 1 percent of the physical machines and components in use today are modeled such that the models capture and mimic behavior”.
At the moment, digital twins are being discussed in Industrie 4.0 working groups in the context of asset administration shells or Industrie 4.0 components. From our point of view, digital twins will become a major topic for research over the coming years because they are not single objects or monolithic data models, but include different aspects of digital representations, functionalities, models, interfaces etc.