Digital Twin as a Service (DTaaS) in Industry 4.0: An Architecture Reference Model

Advanced Engineering Informatics 47, 101225 (2021)

Authors: Shohin Aheleroff, Xun Xu, Ray Y. Zhong, Yuqian Lu
DOI: 10.1016/j.aei.2020.101225

Digital Twin Industry 4.0 Architecture Mass Personalisation

Overview

This article introduces Digital Twin as a Service (DTaaS) as a reference architecture for deploying digital twins in Industry 4.0 environments. It addresses the tension between scope (how much of a system the twin covers) and scale (how many assets or sites it spans), and proposes a technology stack and service model that supports complex, cross-domain applications.

The work also examines how DTaaS enables mass personalisation and advanced decision support, validated through an industrial case study.

Publisher (Elsevier) ScienceDirect Google Scholar

Key contributions

Defines a DTaaS reference architecture for Industry 4.0.
Identifies enabling technologies for scalable, service-oriented digital twins.
Shows how DTaaS supports mass personalisation at industrial scale.
Demonstrates validation through a real industrial case study.

Suggested citation

Aheleroff, S., Xu, X., Zhong, R. Y., & Lu, Y. (2021). Digital Twin as a Service (DTaaS) in Industry 4.0: An Architecture Reference Model. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 47, 101225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2020.101225