A Photorealistic Digital Twin for a Tank Truck Washing Robotic System

Abstract

In the current industrial context, the adoption of a digital twin (DT) has proven to be an appropriate tool to optimize the entire lifecycle of a system. This vision includes the adoption of a DT, in the collaborative network of organizations from the virtual modeling of a system, through its control, operation, namely simulation, implementation, and monitoring/supervision. To take full advantage of DTs, it is essential that they are as photorealistic as possible, allowing all kinds of simulations to be carried out, for example testing vision algorithms. In this context, this paper presents the development of a DT that is integrated as a collaborative system to monitor all phases of the life cycle of a robot destined to wash tank truck. The Unreal Engine 4 software was used to develop a DT and the communication architecture was designed, using the standard OPC UA protocol.