DarTwin: Foundations for the Systematic Evolution of Digital Twins

Welcome to the DarTwin Project!

We are a research project focused on Foundations for the Systematic Evolution of Digital Twins at the Institute for Business Informatics – Software Engineering at Johannes Kepler University Linz, in collaboration with Cosys-Lab – Electronics-ICT at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

The adoption of digital twins (DTs) is one of the most important developments in cyber-physical system (CPS) engineering. Digital twins are digital representations of physical systems that enable system data analysis, simulation and experimentation, predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and more through DT services. The characteristic feature of a DT system is the automated, bidirectional connection between the actual system (AS) and its digital representation.

Our project addresses a critical challenge: the systematic evolution of digital twin systems. While current research primarily focuses on specific lifecycle phases, we aim to provide comprehensive support for the entire evolution of digital twin systems throughout their lifecycle. Our research focuses on:

• Evolutionary Aspects of DT Systems: Understanding how digital twins evolve over time and adapt to changing requirements and environments
• MetaTwins: Operationalized workflows to address digital twin system (DTS) evolution
• DT Systems Evolution Management: Developing methods and tools for managing the evolution of digital twin systems
• Application and Automation: Creating practical solutions for automating evolution management processes

This project is funded by the FWF-FWO WEAVE program, fostering international collaboration between Austria and Belgium. Our work contributes to advancing the state of the art in digital twin engineering, model-driven engineering, and cyber-physical systems.

Project Team

The DarTwin project is led by Stefan Klikovits (Principal Investigator, JKU), who brings extensive expertise in model-driven digital twin engineering, quality assurance, and testing of complex systems. Manuel Wimmer (Project Partner, JKU) contributes over two decades of experience in modeling, metamodeling, and model transformations. Joachim Denil (Associate Professor, University of Antwerp) provides expertise in model validation, validity frames, and simulation workflows. Joost Mertens (Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Antwerp) focuses on digital-twin co-evolution and continuous validation, with recent contributions to the DarTwin notation.

We are looking for passionate researchers, PhD students, and Master students to join the team (more info) !

Funding & Partners