Digital Twin data architecture for Product-Service Systems

Abstract

The digital representation of physical products by Digital Twins has been increasingly perceived as a relevant enabler for Product-Service Systems (PSS). Digital Twins concentrate product data that can be applied to generate insights and thus support value-added services. However, the literature on the intersection between Digital Twin and PSS has only recently started to receive more attention. There are still research gaps related to the required data and systems integration. In this context, this research aims to propose a Digital Twin data architecture to support Product-Service Systems operation. A Design Science Research (DSR) approach is applied, and the proposed architecture has been implemented and tested. Assessment results indicated that the proposed Digital Twin architecture fulfills the four requirements established from the literature: 1) facilitate and support the service offering; 2) acquire and transmit field operation and customer data; 3) integrate design and manufacturing data; 4) guarantee real-time monitoring, data integration, and data fidelity. The presented results provide an original contribution to the research area and can serve as a reference for applying Digital Twin to support PSS in practice.