Towards the Composition of Digital Twins

This paper describes challenges in the composition of cyber-physical systems enabled by digital twins. Digital twins link virtual models with the real systems that they represent, adding value to these models throughout the system’s life. As we come to rely on federations of systems, there is good reason to be interested in the composition of both models and twins. A practical example demonstrates the composition of twins of two robots, building on a “Digital Twin as a Service” platform. In considering how this field may develop, we highlight the influence of business and commercial factors, such as the need to deal with the diverse interests of their stakeholders, that are expected to have a significant technical impact.