A model-driven approach for engineering Mobility Digital Twins: The Bologna case study

IF 4.3 2区计算机科学 Q2 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information and Software Technology Pub Date : 2025-09-02 DOI:10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107863

Alessandra Somma , Domenico Amalfitano , Alessio Bucaioni , Alessandra De Benedictis

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Context:

As cities grapple with increasing congestion, sustainability concerns, and the need for efficient mobility systems, Mobility Digital Twins (MoDTs) have emerged as promising technology for improving urban transportation. However, the development of MoDTs remains hindered by challenges such as structural complexity, data heterogeneity, lack of interoperability, and limited support for scalability, maintainability, and adaptability.

Objective:

This work aims to address these barriers by introducing a structured and systematic engineering framework that supports the design development of MoDT, reducing technical debt, development costs and human errors, while promoting long-term evolution.

Methods:

We propose a Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) approach that organizes the development of MoDTs through models at different levels of abstraction and adopts automated transformations from high-level specifications to executable code artifacts, supporting MoDT life-cycle.

Results:

The proposed approach is validated through its application in developing a MoDT for the city of Bologna, Italy. To support this, we introduce the M2DT tool, which automates the workflow from high-level models to software code artifacts. The resulting BoMoDT platform is built using open-source technologies and real mobility data. This case study demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach, which, to our knowledge, is the first to apply a model-driven strategy for the entire MoDT development. A qualitative evaluation confirms that our framework addresses key challenges in MoDT development. Quantitative experiments further validate BoMoDT’s ability to accurately reproduce and monitor real urban mobility conditions.

Conclusion:

The proposed approach offers a solid foundation for addressing MoDT development challenges. By combining automation with structured abstraction, it improves adaptability and maintainability while enabling scalable integration, helping make MoDTs more accessible for future urban system design.

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模型驱动的工程移动数字孪生方法：博洛尼亚案例研究

背景：随着城市努力应对日益严重的拥堵、可持续性问题以及对高效移动系统的需求，移动数字双胞胎（MoDTs）已经成为改善城市交通的有前途的技术。然而，modt的发展仍然受到诸如结构复杂性、数据异构性、缺乏互操作性以及对可伸缩性、可维护性和适应性的有限支持等挑战的阻碍。目的：本工作旨在通过引入结构化和系统化的工程框架来解决这些障碍，该框架支持MoDT的设计开发，减少技术债务、开发成本和人为错误，同时促进长期发展。方法：我们提出了一种模型驱动工程（MDE）方法，该方法通过不同抽象层次的模型来组织MoDT的开发，并采用从高级规范到可执行代码工件的自动转换，支持MoDT的生命周期。结果：通过在意大利博洛尼亚市开发MoDT的应用，验证了所提出的方法。为了支持这一点，我们引入了M2DT工具，它将从高级模型到软件代码工件的工作流自动化。由此产生的BoMoDT平台是使用开源技术和真实的移动数据构建的。这个案例研究证明了我们的方法的可行性和有效性，据我们所知，这是第一个将模型驱动策略应用于整个MoDT开发的方法。定性评估确认我们的框架解决了MoDT开发中的关键挑战。定量实验进一步验证了BoMoDT准确再现和监测真实城市交通状况的能力。结论：提出的方法为解决MoDT发展挑战提供了坚实的基础。通过将自动化与结构化抽象相结合，它提高了适应性和可维护性，同时支持可扩展集成，帮助modt更容易用于未来的城市系统设计。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Information and Software Technology 工程技术-计算机：软件工程

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

7.70%

发文量

164

审稿时长

9.6 weeks

期刊介绍： Information and Software Technology is the international archival journal focusing on research and experience that contributes to the improvement of software development practices. The journal''s scope includes methods and techniques to better engineer software and manage its development. Articles submitted for review should have a clear component of software engineering or address ways to improve the engineering and management of software development. Areas covered by the journal include: • Software management, quality and metrics, • Software processes, • Software architecture, modelling, specification, design and programming • Functional and non-functional software requirements • Software testing and verification & validation • Empirical studies of all aspects of engineering and managing software development Short Communications is a new section dedicated to short papers addressing new ideas, controversial opinions, "Negative" results and much more. Read the Guide for authors for more information. The journal encourages and welcomes submissions of systematic literature studies (reviews and maps) within the scope of the journal. Information and Software Technology is the premiere outlet for systematic literature studies in software engineering.