Project ANR DT4CPS

Although the concept of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) appeared in 2006 in [1] with the work of the American National Science Foundation (NSF), it is often the definition from [2] that is retained. Indeed, this definition integrates the fact that CPS are systems composed of autonomous and collaborative entities with computing capabilities that interact with the physical world and make data available on the network. Within this definition, the author defines various characteristics, including the fact that a CPS is (i) adapted to multiple temporal and spatial scales, (ii) highly automated and connected, and most importantly (iii) capable of dynamically reconfiguring itself following a failure or a functional production change request. It is within this context that the DT4CPS project aims to operate. However, in order to evaluate the reconfiguration capabilities of a CPS and the consequences thereof, we wish to rely on the exploitation of a digital twin of a CPS in order to leverage its simulation advantages.r sur l’exploitation d’un jumeau numérique d’un CPS afin d’en exploiter ses atouts de simulation.

We limit the scope of our work to Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS) as a type of Cyber-Physical Production System (CPPS). Therefore, the chosen definition of the Digital Twin will correspond to the vision of automation engineers and production specialists. Indeed, there are multiple definitions of a Digital Twin depending on the use cases and the associated value creation. In this regard, the AIF (Alliance Industrie du Futur) recently published a report on the Digital Twin and its “Major Lever for the Digital Transformation of Industry” [1]. It defines the Digital Twin as:

• an organized set of digital models representing a real-world entity to address specific issues and use cases,
• updated in relation to reality, at a frequency and precision adapted to its issues and use cases,
• equipped with advanced exploitation tools to understand, analyze, predict, and optimize the operation and control of the real entity.

[1] http://www.industrie-dufutur.org/content/uploads/2023/03/AIF_JumeauNumerique.pdf