An Introduction of the Role of Virtual Technologies and Digital Twin in Industry 4.0

Abstract

It is inevitable that technological improvements have affected human’s life in any aspect to a large extent. Automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, etc., are some advances contributed to the fourth industrial revolution: Industry 4.0. Despite there are still many arguments, Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) have been widely acknowledged as the main fundaments of Industry 4.0. This paper introduces the concept of CPS by providing an explicit framework that unifies the existing theories in this regard. Nine exquisite technologies attributed to Industry 4.0 are investigated, among which virtual technology (VT) and digital twin (DT) are considered as two of the core criteria and are thus focused on in this paper. However, for providing an acceptable level of integration and intelligence, noticeable gap between the virtual world and the real factory is still a significant challenge. Holistic approaches addressing this issue suggest VTs and DT have the potential to form the fundaments for more improvements in terms of both interoperability and consciousness. Furthermore, they may pave the way for achieving the highest level of CPS and Industry 4.0.