Multibody simulation model as part of digital twin architecture: Stewart platform example

Abstract

The digital twin is considered a new and promising concept whose added value is seen mainly in end applications. However, the benefit of considering the digital twin application since the early development of the system seems not to be stressed enough. The ability to choose system components, methods, and tools can have a symbiotic effect during system integration. This work describes a development process of a Stewart platform digital twin based on its multibody simulation model created in Matlab/Simulink. Although the multibody simulation model is useful in the design phase, after adjustments and verification, it can also be reused as a virtual entity of the digital twin. This integration is enabled by the methods, tools, and system architecture selected for the purpose of including a digital twin. This is considered to be the main contribution of this paper to emerging methodologies for the development of mechatronic systems and its digital twins. However, practical integration comes with challenges that are related to the model fidelity and synchronisation of the virtual and physical entities and are important to overcome in order to employ the system in the real applications.