Automated Generation of Standardised Digital Twins Based on MBSE Models

Digital Twins have emerged as a key technology to enable a mirrored digital representation of physical systems. The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) is a standardised concept for implementing these Digital Twins. However, the implementation of Digital Twins for existing systems poses an enormous challenge, as many physical systems were not originally developed for the integration of Digital Twins. Our aim is to generate ready to use standardised Digital Twins by automatically evaluating MBSE models of system components that are already in productive use. To achieve this, a tool was created that analyzes existing MBSE models and then generates AAS using the established open-source middleware Eclipse BaSyx. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is an approach that has been used successfully for many years and uses systematic modeling to plan and support the logical and physical structure of systems over their entire life cycle. Building on this established methodology, we aim to exten d its application to create and manage an accessible Digital Twin, ensuring its functionality and alignment with the represented system throughout its entire lifecycle. As part of this paper, we will demonstrate how a simplified space satellite system, documented as an MBSE model, can be automatically transferred into a fully functional AAS within our application prototype. The integration of MBSE principles not only increases the accuracy of the generated Digital Twins, but also improves their scalability and maintainability. This is why our solution has the potential to convince those who currently have reservations about adopting the novel Digital Twin technology for systems within their company.