MBSE and Digital Twin: a potent combination
The "digital twin" is a digital model of a physical system. At first glance, this is only indirectly related to MBSE (Model-Based Systems Engineering). In contrast to the MBSE model, the digital twin is fed with data from operation in order to gain new insights.
However, the three scientists Azad Madni, Carla Madni and Scott Lucero see many advantages in merging the two approaches. They published the advantages they see in the journal Systems in 2019. Here is the summary.
The Journal Systems published the article in 2019 under the title "Leveraging Digital Twin Technology in Model-Based Systems Engineering" (Download).
The Digital Twin...
By definition, a digital twin requires a physical twin for data acquisition and contextual interaction. The virtual system model in the digital twin can change in real time if the state of the physical systems changes during operation.
The idea of the digital twin first came about in the early 2000s through the idea of the Internet of Things (IoT) on. It was the use of IoT in the industrial environment that made the digital twin feasible in the first place.
Digital twins are now widely used and are sometimes extremely realistic. For example, manufacturers of aircraft turbines use digital twins to track the condition of the turbine in real time, including system status and even material fatigue. The upper part of the following image shows this:
The advantages of a digital twin (without MBSE) are
- Validation of the system model with data from the real world
- Provision of decision support and warning messages for users or operators
- Prediction of expected changes, including failure
- Finding new applications or earning opportunities
...with MBSE
The image also shows how the digital twin can be linked to an MBSE system. One of the key objectives is to create a uniform database for both twins (MBSE Knowledge Base (KB) in the image). In addition to the system model (e.g. SysML), the MBSE toolbox (MBSE Tools) contains other tools such as simulations, dependency matrices and much more.
There can only be a digital twin if there is a physical system that supplies data. In this respect, the MBSE model must exist before there can be a digital twin fed with real data.
Application scenarios for Digital Twin + MBSE
In addition to the above-mentioned advantages of a digital twin, a combination of digital twin and MBSE offers benefits in the following areas:
- Simulation - By using data from the physical twin, simulations can be used in a much more targeted manner than would be the case with simple MBSE. As soon as real data is available, simulations can be repeated with greater precision, for example to obtain a more accurate statement about the expected service life of the system.
- Machine Learning - Particularly with complex systems, over machine learning operating parameters can be optimized based on the physical diagnostic data.
- Costs - As Digital Twin and the MBSE model are similar, their joint use can reduce redundancies, which has a positive effect on costs.
The authors mention IoT as another area that benefits from the combination of Digital Twin and MBSE. However, they do not have a convincing argument for the added value of MBSE (compared to using "only" Digital Twin, without MBSE).
The future
The authors expect that support for the digital twin will become one of MBSE's capabilities in the medium term. This will (hopefully) increase the visibility of MBSE in industries where digital twins are already in use, but where MBSE is rarely used.
As with the Digital Twin, one of the most important areas of application will be maintenance and servicing. Simulations in particular, which were previously only used in MBSE, can now be used to optimize existing systems without significant additional effort.
The authors also discuss a number of other industries, possible applications and stakeholders. However, in my opinion, much of this is speculation.
But the authors are certainly right that the digital twin and MBSE will grow together over the next few years. In this respect, it is not wrong to proactively keep your eyes open for possible applications.
