Digital Twin Generation: Re-Conceptualizing Agent Systems for Behavior-Centered Cyber-Physical System Development

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 21; no. 4; p. 1096
• Main Author: Stary, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 05.02.2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: behavior modeling; Cyber-Physical Systems; design-integrated engineering; digital twin; intelligent agents; subject orientation; intelligent agents; digital twin; subject orientation; Cyber-Physical Systems; design-integrated engineering; behavior modeling
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21041096

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) form the new backbone of digital ecosystems. Upcoming CPS will be operated on a unifying basis, the Internet of Behaviors (IoB). It features autonomous while federated CPS architectures and requires corresponding behavior modeling for design and control. CPS design and control involves stakeholders in different roles with different expertise accessing behavior models, termed Digital twins. They mirror the physical CPS part and integrate it with the digital part. Representing role-specific behaviors and provided with automated execution capabilities Digital twins facilitate dynamic adaptation and (re-)configuration. This paper proposes to conceptualize agent-based design for behavior-based Digital twins through subject-oriented models. These models can be executed and, thus, increase the transparency at design and runtime. Patterns recognizing environmental factors and operation details facilitate the configuration of CPS. Subject-oriented runtime support enables dynamic adaptation and the federated use of CPS components.