Towards a Domain-Neutral Platform for Sustainable Digital Twin Development

Goran Savić, Milan Segedinac (), Zora Konjović, Milan Vidaković and Radoslav Dutina
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Goran Savić: Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Milan Segedinac: Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Zora Konjović: The Center of the Singidunum University in Novi Sad, Singidunum University Belgrade, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Milan Vidaković: Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Radoslav Dutina: Rationale Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: In this paper, we propose an abstract domain-neutral architecture for a cognitive digital twin (CDT) and a software platform to develop such CDTs, including machine reasoning capabilities. Sustainable development refers here to an abstract model that enables a holistic view of limiting resources and has an ability to adapt to different application domains while reusing existing resources. The proposed solution allows for a unified abstract representation and the development of a wide range of diverse digital twins, as well as facilitating their interoperability. The abstract architecture consists of a four-layer structure (observation/actuation layer, data management layer, reasoning layer, and simulation layer) with an upper ontology to which the domain ontology of the specific CDT is mapped. The architecture relies on semantic web technologies, including ontology-based reasoning using OWL, and a loosely coupled, component-based service-oriented software architecture. The platform utilizes a microservice architecture that enables separate, loosely coupled services on each layer, message queues to provide asynchronous communication, and possesses cloud technologies to achieve scalability. The proposed approach was validated by implementing a software platform prototype and demonstrating its key features through two dissimilar scenarios. The first scenario demonstrates simple sustainable energy management through IoT systems inside smart buildings, while the second one demonstrates knowledge quality management based on knowledge space theory.

Keywords: CDT; ontology; OWL; microservice; IoT; KST (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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