With the Industry 4.0 initiative, actors of complex systems are typically represented by their Digital Twin (1-to-1 representation of its real twin, especially in terms of semantics, structure, behavior, and interaction). One of the biggest drivers in the industrialization of Digital Twins and IoT is the Asset Administration Shell, aiming to standardize access and communication in the Industry 4.0 landscape. While the technology benefits are promising, they must be accessible to each stakeholder in a simplified manner, easing the automation and thus use and maintenance of complex systems.
Process-driven approach
The process-driven approach describes the modeling and implementation of Digital Twins services through processes.
Currently, the implementation of AAS-based Digital Twins is complex and requires a deep understanding of AAS-metamodel. Here, process modeling languages such as BPMN2.0 or Petri Nets might serve as a simplified tool to visually program and observe a Digital Twin in the Industry 4.0 landscape while providing a common modeling language for the behavioral model of the Digital Twin.
Process modeling of Digital Twins behavior on different hierarchical levels based on the BPMN 2.0 standard, illustrated for an exemplary logging process in Forestry 4.0. Left: Visualization of the high-level choreographed logging process. Top-right: Visualization of the lower-level process model of the harvesting operation. Bottom-right: Proposed mapping from AAS interaction elements to BPMN 2.0 elements.
In this thesis, an architecture for BPMN 2.0 process modeling of AAS-based Digital Twins shall be created and implemented. The system behavior of AAS-based Digital Twins (Operation, Events, etc.) shall be reflected by BPMN2.0 Activities and Events, which allow to model and execute the Digital Twin based on one process model and process engine at the same time.
The architecture, accessible via a Web-Service, shall include a discovery of AAS-based Digital Twins (Capabilities, Operations, Properties, Events) via an AAS-registry, leading to the behavior model of the Digital Twin.
The concrete work procedure is given by the following:
- Familiarization with Industry 4.0, AAS, and BPMN2.0
- Literature research of IoT process modelling, I4.0 Language, and AAS
- Concept for IoT process modelling architecture for AAS-based Digital Twins
- Prototypical implementation of Web-Service.
- Validation based on Forestry 4.0 scenario
- Written elaboration and presentation
Supervisor: Bektas
Langauges: Eng, Ger
