Abstract:

One of the current trends in engineering education is the search for attractive ways of acquiring practical skills using technological resources that allow connecting theoretical and practical concepts in a simple way. In this sense, the virtualization of teaching, mainly in the laboratory, is nowadays a reality, since, besides the benefits for student learning, it allows cost savings in the acquisition of equipment, as well as a better use of time in the laboratory and individual student work, the latter being very important in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the era of Industry 4.0, it is expected that the digital twin (DT) revolutionizes different industrial sectors as an essential technology within digital transformation for obtaining competitive and economic advantages over competitors [1].

Although the terminology has changed over time and nowadays there is a lack of consensus on the definition, DTs are classically recognized as high-fidelity virtual replicas of a physical reality (product or process) both of which are interconnected via exchange of data in real time [1, 2]. They are used to simulate, predict, optimize, and track the status of the product during its life cycle, among other functions. Despite their benefits at the industry level, the exploitation of this type of resource in education is relatively poor.

Unlike traditional virtual laboratories, DTs allow much more realistic and accurate simulations of the real system and can even incorporate new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual/mixed reality, among others, creating real-time 3D simulation models that are more attractive to students. According to [3, 4], a DT for engineering use should contain the main components of its counterpart to illustrate real industrial technology in the classroom, as well as the principles describing the behavior of the real process on which it is based. It should have the same reactions to inputs as those of the real system and that the system behavior is visualized.

Given this context, the objective of this work is to develop DTs of real equipment, created in the MATLAB/Simulink environment by means of the toolbox Simscape Multibody, to support teaching in automatic control in the laboratory in engineering degrees. This paper deals with the building of the DT of two rotary motion platforms provided by Quanser, namely the Qube-Servo and the Rotary Flexible Link, which will allow students to perform the control of both a rotary pendulum and a flexible link. For illustration purposes, some examples of possible control exercises that can be carried out by students using the developed DT are proposed.

References:
[1] M. Singh, E. Fuenmayor, E. P. Hinchy, Y. Qiao, N. Murray, D. Devine, “Digital Twin: Origin to Future”, Applied System Innovation, vol. 4, no.36, 2021.
[2] Berisha-Gawlowski et al., “The Concept of a Digital Twin and Its Potential for Learning Organizations” in Digital Transformation of Learning Organizations (D. Ifenthaler, S. Hofhues, M. Egloffstein and C. Helbig, eds), pp. 94-114. Switzerland: Springer, 2021.
[3] S. Zacher, “Digital Twins for Education and Study of Engineering Sciences”, International Journal on Engineering, Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 34-42, 2020.
[4] A. Liljaniemi, H. Paavilainen, “Using Digital Twin Technology in Engineering Education. Course Concept to Explore Benefits and Barriers”, Open Engineering, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 377-385, 2020.

Keywords:

Digital twin, simulator, laboratory, automatic control, Simulink.