Industry 4 0 The Global Industrial Revolution Achievements Obstacles and Research Needs For The Digital Transformation of Industry Johannes Winter

Industry 4 0 The Global Industrial
Revolution Achievements Obstacles

and Research Needs for the Digital
Transformation of Industry Johannes
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Special Issue Reprint
Industry 4.0 - The Global

Industrial Revolution
Achievements, Obstacles and Research Needs
for the Digital Transformation of Industry
Edited by
Johannes Winter
mdpi.com/journal/sci
Industry 4.0 – The Global Industrial
Revolution: Achievements, Obstacles
Transformation of Industry
Industry 4.0 – The Global Industrial
Revolution: Achievements, Obstacles
Transformation of Industry
Editor
Johannes Winter
Basel ‚ Beijing ‚ Wuhan ‚ Barcelona ‚ Belgrade ‚ Novi Sad ‚ Cluj ‚ Manchester

Editor
Johannes Winter
L3S Research Center
Hannover
Germany
Editorial Office
MDPI
St. Alban-Anlage 66
4052 Basel, Switzerland
This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Sci
(ISSN 2413-4155) (available at: www.mdpi.com/journal/sci/special issues/Industrie The Global
Industrial Revolution Achievements Obstacles Research Needs Digital Transformation Industry).
For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as
indicated below:
Lastname, A.A.; Lastname, B.B. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Volume Number, Page Range.
ISBN 978-3-0365-9663-1 (Hbk)

ISBN 978-3-0365-9662-4 (PDF)
doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-9662-4
Cover image courtesy of Pugun & Photo Studio
© 2023 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms
and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
license.
Contents
About the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Johannes Winter
Implementing Smart Services in Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Companies: On the
Progress of Servitization in the Era of Industry 4.0
Reprinted from: Sci 2023, 5, 29, doi:10.3390/sci5030029 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Henning Kagermann and Wolfgang Wahlster

Ten Years of Industrie 4.0
Martin Lindner, Lukas Bank, Johannes Schilp and Matthias Weigold

Digital Twins in Manufacturing: A RAMI 4.0 Compliant Concept
Tobias Harland, Christian Hocken, Tobias Schröer and Volker Stich

Towards a Democratization of Data in the Context of Industry 4.0
Christoph-Alexander Holst and Volker Lohweg

Scarce Data in Intelligent Technical Systems: Causes, Characteristics, and Implications
Siegfried Hackel, Shanna Schönhals, Lutz Doering, Thomas Engel and Reinhard Baumfalk
The Digital Calibration Certificate (DCC) for an End-to-End Digital Quality Infrastructure for
Industry 4.0
Kai Lucks
Industry 4.0 from An Entrepreneurial Transformation and Financing Perspective
Christian Koldewey, Daniela Hobscheidt, Christoph Pierenkemper, Arno Kühn and Roman
Dumitrescu
Increasing Firm Performance through Industry 4.0—A Method to Define and Reach Meaningful
Goals
Jens Neuhüttler, Maximilian Feike, Janika Kutz, Christian Blümel and Bernd Bienzeisler
Digital Factory Transformation from a Servitization Perspective: Fields of Action for
Developing Internal Smart Services
Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen
Industry 4.0: Options for Human-Oriented Work Design
Reprinted from: Sci 2023, 5, 9, doi:10.3390/sci5010009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Abdelkarim Alhloul and Eva Kiss

Industry 4.0 as a Challenge for the Skills and Competencies of the Labor Force: A Bibliometric
Review and a Survey
v
Kuan-Lun Lee, Andrea Roesinger and Uwe Hommel
Development and Practice of Industrie 4.0 in China—Practical Experience of a German
Industrial Software Company in China
Florian Butollo, Jana Flemming, Christine Gerber, Martin Krzywdzinski, David Wandjo and
Nina Delicat et al.
COVID-19 as a Jump Start for Industry 4.0? Motivations and Core Areas of Pandemic-Related
Investments in Digital Technologies at German Firms
Johannes Winter, Anna Frey and Jan Biehler

Towards the Next Decade of Industrie 4.0 – Current State in Research and Adoption and
Promising Development Paths from a German Perspective
vi
About the Editor
Johannes Winter
Dr. Winter is a multi-faceted professional renowned for his expertise in digital transformation,
innovation research and management, and strategic leadership. He assumed the role of Chief
Strategy Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at the esteemed L3S Research Center in 2022.
This institution is internationally recognized for pioneering research in data science and Artificial
Intelligence. Simultaneously, he holds the position of Managing Director at the Lower Saxony
Center for AI and Causal Methods in Medicine, highlighting his commitment to advancing AI-driven
methodologies in healthcare.
Previously, Dr. Winter served as the founding Managing Director of the National German
Platform for Artificial Intelligence, under the leadership of the Federal German Minister of Education
and Research and the president of the National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). His
extensive career spans leadership roles at the Technology Department of the National Academy of
Science and Engineering in Munich and as an executive assistant of Professor Henning Kagermann,
the former CEO of SAP SE and one of the conceptual fathers of Industrie 4.0.
He also holds advisory positions in tech startups and research institutions, along with
participating in judging panels for prestigious tech and business awards such as Best of Consulting
by Wirtschaftswoche. At the same time, Dr. Winter continues to teach innovation management
and technology management at the University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management,
Munich, and the Berlin Professional School.
Dr. Winter holds a Ph.D. in Regional Economics from the University of Cologne. His
research interests include the strategic management of advanced technologies, digital business model
innovation and servitization, and implementing and using Artificial Intelligence. His previous work
experience includes positions in the automotive industry, management consulting, and academic
research.
vii
Preface
The genesis of industrial revolutions, sparked by mechanization, electricity, and IT, set the
stage for the fourth revolution, termed Industrie 4.0 (Industry 4.0). This paradigm shift embraces
hyperconnected, smart, decentralized, and autonomous systems, heralding increased complexity yet
promising individualized products and services with unparalleled value and user experiences. This
is achieved through the fusion of mass production’s cost efficiency with innovative advancements.
Every revolution contends with the established norms of the past. Industrie 4.0 transcends
the boundaries of the analog and physical realms, extending them into a digital sphere. This
expansion entails not just physical growth but virtual growth as well. Smart factories, driven by
myriad sensors, operate seamlessly through high automation and self-organization. These intelligent
systems perpetually strive for enhanced productivity and top-notch quality. Achieving this relies
on cyber–physical systems and the astute interconnection of machines, products, and workforces.
Products themselves relay necessary production data to smart factories, guiding each step towards
the desired outcome.
The integration and operation of Industrie 4.0 solutions unveil unprecedented opportunities
alongside fresh challenges in the digital transformation journey for both organizations and value
networks.
This Special Issue delves into the strides made, challenges encountered, and research imperatives
within the realm of Industrie 4.0 from both a scientific and practical standpoint. This publication
features the voices of Industrie 4.0 pioneers Henning Kagermann and Wolfgang Wahlster, as well as
leaders in research and industrial application of smart manufacturing concepts.
Johannes Winter
Editor
ix
Editorial
Implementing Smart Services in Small- and Medium-Sized
Manufacturing Companies: On the Progress of Servitization in
the Era of Industry 4.0
Johannes Winter
L3S Research Center, Leibniz University of Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany; winter@l3s.de
1. Introduction
For a long time, the challenge has been to provide products and services that precisely
match the preferences, habits, and needs of users. This is easier to accomplish with
custom manufacturing and small batch sizes than in a rigid production environment (mass
production) [1,2]. Mass production is a hierarchically organized system in which largely
uniform and standardized products are produced in repetitive steps based on the division
of labor. Mass production is characterized by low unit costs and high economies of scale.
The low prices of mass products encourage the concentration of demand on uniform
products—a self-reinforcing effect in favor of the producers of mass products. The diversity
of variants is correspondingly low. It is difficult for mass producers to fulfill the individual
wishes of individual customers—particularly in the early digital age—at the cost of a mass
product. Individualization is more likely to be found where consumers are willing to pay a
higher price or to forgo certain functionalities.
When, in an individualized society [3], the demand for higher quality, extended
functionalities, and stronger personalization of a product [4,5] increases, classical product
development and production processes reach their limits. The way out does not lie in
customized products or small series; both the manufacturing process and the product are
too customer specific, which means that economies of scale do not apply, and that costs
and product prices are higher than those of mass-produced products.
However, when mass production approaches are combined with customized product
Citation: Winter, J. Implementing
development and manufacturing, additional value can be created [6]. Mass customization
Smart Services in Small- and
takes advantage of industrial organizational processes and highly automated, flexible
Medium-Sized Manufacturing
production systems, and it combines them with digital innovations in the area of customer
Companies: On the Progress of
co-design and personalized product development. The integration of cognitive technolo-
Servitization in the Era of Industry
4.0. Sci 2023, 5, 29. https://doi.org/
gies and methods, combined with the exponential growth of storage capacity, computing
10.3390/sci5030029
power, and networks, and the simultaneous availability of vast quantities of data, now
makes it possible to offer highly personalized product–service systems. Smart products
Received: 7 July 2023 are being refined with digital services (smart services) and connected to industrial meta-
Accepted: 10 July 2023
verses [7]. This has far-reaching consequences for the production and use of devices, as
Published: 12 July 2023
they should be adaptable, reconfigurable, customizable, flexible, and able to interact with
their environment at any time via user-friendly interfaces. In addition, products are now
highly adaptable to the needs of the user. As a result, mass markets for uniformly equipped
Copyright: © 2023 by the author.
products are expected to become less important in the medium term.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This paper presents three empirical case studies for the implementation of smart
This article is an open access article services in medium-sized manufacturing companies and discusses the progress of the
distributed under the terms and concept of servitization in industry.
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1
Sci 2023, 5, 29
2. Methods
This editorial follows a qualitative research design. The chosen method was to conduct
explorative, semi-structured interviews that took place in a virtual environment due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 30 qualitative interviews were conducted between fall 2020 and summer
2021 by members of the “Platform Learning Systems” project, which is part of acatech—the
German Academy of Science and Engineering. The “Platform Learning Systems” brings
together key players in the field of artificial intelligence from industry, the service sector,
trade, science, civil society, and politics, and accompany the introduction and use of AI in
Germany and Europe with studies, use cases, conferences, and public information services
such as the Map on AI [8,9].
For each company example, at least one appropriate expert was interviewed. The in-
depth interviews will be analyzed using qualitative content analysis methods and presented
in textual and graphical form. Qualitative content analysis is “a research method for the
subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification
process of coding and identifying themes or patterns” [10,11]. In addition, the relevant
literature and statistics were reviewed and processed.
3. Servitization in Industry: From Selling Products to Smart Product–Service Systems

Smart products are intelligent everyday objects, machines, systems, or means of trans-
portation that are equipped with sensors, controlled by embedded software, and connected
to the Internet worldwide [12,13]. Smart services are digital services that complement and
enhance physical, increasingly intelligent products by enabling flexible and personalized
adaptation to specific customer expectations based on processed data. The combination of
smart products and services is unique in its disruptive potential. Smart product–service
systems enable better user experiences and altered value propositions [14]. In the case of a
manufacturing company, this can mean that networking and data-driven intelligence turn
the machine tool into a smart product. Add a digital dashboard that provides information
about the status of the machine or the value-added step, and the smart machine tool is com-
plemented by a smart service. When smart products and smart services are bundled into a
digital business model with a billing model based on usage or machine hours, it is called a
smart product–service system [15]. If a digital marketplace with an APP store is created in
relation to the machine tool so that additional APPs can be used and booked, this becomes
a smart service platform, or an innovation ecosystem related to the tool. This step-by-step
model is emblematic of the digital transformation of machine tool manufacturers and users.
Many companies have already connected their smart products to the Internet; they
are in the process of collecting and analyzing relevant data. The speed and radicalness
with which current business models need to change is often underestimated. Figure 1
illustrates the process of moving from optimized production to data-driven business model
innovation. Connectivity and real-time responses pertaining to the original product or
service are followed by optimization and efficiency at the product and process levels,
including new after-sales services. Extending the business model to products-as-services
and value-added services transforms the company into a service organization. Through the
new digital business, the company ultimately becomes a platform company or a participant
in a digital ecosystem. While the best networks today have latency periods of ten to fifteen
milliseconds, the upcoming 5G/6G mobile communications standard will provide near
real-time mobile Internet; data latency, the time between data request and data delivery,
will be reduced to just one millisecond; hence, 5G/6G will be ultra-fast, latency-free, energy-
efficient, and reliable—a fundamental requirement for the next generation of products and
services [16].
2
Sci 2023,
Sci 5, 29
2023, 5, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 10
Figure 1.1.From
Figure Fromoptimized
optimized production
production to innovation
to innovation ecosystems
ecosystems (source:
(source: own illustration,
own illustration, 2023,
2023, based
based
on [6]).on [6]).
3.1.
3.1. Usage Models of Smart Offerings
The
The evolution
evolution of of physical
physical products
products and and traditional
traditional services
services using
using data
data and
and analytics
analytics
is
is still a relatively new trend. Until now, the sale of a product has been at thethe
still a relatively new trend. Until now, the sale of a product has been at endend of
of the
the value chain, even though the pay-per-use models shown in
value chain, even though the pay-per-use models shown in Figure 1, as well as the sharingFigure 1, as well as the
sharing
economy, economy,
have beenhaveonbeen
the on
risethe
forrise for about
about two decades.
two decades. Traditionally,
Traditionally, raw materials
raw materials and
and components
components are purchased,
are purchased, supplysupply
chains chains are orchestrated,
are orchestrated, andand labor
labor andand machinery
machinery are
are used in the manufacturing process. The finished product is
used in the manufacturing process. The finished product is then sold with a profit margin then sold with a profit
margin and delivered
and delivered to the customer.
to the customer. With the sale Withofthethesale of thethe
product, product,
ownershipthe ownership and
and availability
availability of the product changes from the manufacturer to the
of the product changes from the manufacturer to the user. This tried-and-true practice is user. This tried-and-
true
losingpractice is losing its
its dominance indominance
the digitalinage, the as
digital
the age,
change as the
in change
question in impacts
questionbothimpactsthe
both
development and production process of products and services and the way theythey
the development and production process of products and services and the way are
are marketed.
marketed.
The business model describes the product or service that a market participant offers
The business model describes the product or service that a market participant offers
and the characteristics of how it interacts with customers and suppliers [17]. At its core are
and the characteristics of how it interacts with customers and suppliers [17]. At its core
(1) a unique value proposition; (2) a revenue model or revenue mechanism that describes
are (1) a unique value proposition; (2) a revenue model or revenue mechanism that
how the value of the offering can be converted into revenue; and (3) the resources and
describes how the value of the offering can be converted into revenue; and (3) the
processes used to deliver the value proposition [18,19]. The key resources are brand, people,
resources and processes used to deliver the value proposition [18,19]. The key resources
technology, partnerships, and data. In the digital age, data amount to a key resource
are brand, people, technology, partnerships, and data. In the digital age, data amount to
for implementing a company’s value proposition in the form of intelligent, networked
a key resource for implementing a company’s value proposition in the form of intelligent,
products and services, as well as digitized organizational, development, production, and
networked products and services, as well as digitized organizational, development,
logistics processes.
production, and logistics processes.
It should be emphasized that a product or service delivered to the customer is no
It should be emphasized that a product or service delivered to the customer is no less
less interesting from the supplier’s point of view. This is because smart products generate
operational from
interesting the supplier’s
data throughout theirpoint of view.
lifecycle, whichThisopens
is because
up new smart products generate
opportunities to drive
operational data throughout their lifecycle, which opens up new
innovation, provide services, and engage with customers on an ongoing basis. An example opportunities to drive
innovation, provide services, and engage with customers on
from the mobility sector illustrates this: small-scale weather events, such as regional an ongoing basis. An
example from the mobility sector illustrates this: small-scale weather
precipitation or fog, can be recorded in the intelligent, connected vehicle via the on-board events, such as
regional windshield
camera, precipitationwiperor fog, can be or
sensors, recorded in the intelligent,
other connected objects,connected
and sent via vehicle via the
the vehicle
on-board camera, windshield wiper sensors, or other connected objects,
backend to the manufacturer, who, in turn, can provide this safety-related data to weather and sent via the
vehicle backend to the manufacturer, who, in turn, can provide this
services, traffic radio, or other connected vehicles and fleets. This has the potential to safety-related data to
weather services, traffic radio, or other connected vehicles
increase road safety, and this vehicle and mobility data can also be monetized [20]. and fleets. This has the
potential
This to increase road
development safety,driven
is being and thisbyvehicle and mobilityprogress
rapid technological data can andalso building
be monetized
tech-
[20].
nologies have reached the level of technological maturity appropriate for use in the field
(and This development
at affordable prices).is being driven by rapid technological progress and building
technologies have reached the level of technological maturity appropriate for use in the
field (and at affordable prices).
3
Sci 2023, 5, 29
3.2. Smart Services: New Value Propositions for the Digital Age
Industry 4.0, in the sense of networked, highly automated, and adaptable production,
enables the manufacture of smart products at marketable costs. By analogy, smart services
are individualized services at the price of standard services [21]. Disruptive business
models are based on extending smart products with a bundle of smart services to offer
users new user experiences and new value propositions. Such an enhanced user experience
might include a recommendation via the multimodal mobility APP to switch to the metro
as a mode of transport because the e-scooter booked is less safe on rainy roads or in dense
fog. Weather data were collected in real time and used for the APP travel recommendation.
A new service promise could be the guaranteed arrival time for a long-distance trip because
the weather and traffic data are processed and made available in the navigation APP in
real time, making dynamic route guidance much more precise and reliable than we have
become used to.
The lubricant for smart services is therefore smart data, i.e., large quantities of pro-
cessed data that provide information about the user’s preferences, the optimal selection
decision, or the environmental conditions in which the smart service is used.
Current challenges include the monetization of smart services in addition to the
company’s traditional product range, as well as their economical operation. There is
potential for revenue generation, for example, in the area of flexible pricing models. In this
way, opportunities to generate additional revenue on the basis of data can be exploited
throughout the entire product lifecycle. An example of this is services that can be booked
“over the air”, such as the above-mentioned activation of a higher performance of the
engine or the battery in the vehicle. The machine tool shown in Figure 1 can also be
priced according to consumption (pay-per-use), but it can also be priced according to the
number of units sold or proportionally to the revenue generated. Payment based on the
number of records exchanged is also conceivable for any application domain. Accordingly,
metadata hubs and data marketplaces are currently being created, such as the Mobility
Data Space, in which leading mobility providers, namely, cities and municipalities, research
institutions, the German National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, and the German
Federal Ministry of Transport, are participating [22]. The goal is to enable innovative and
sustainable mobility services by sharing and using a wide range of data.
3.3. Outcome-Oriented Smart Services

In the digital age, the value of the smart product–service package lies more in the result
achieved than in its mere material existence, including specific product characteristics. The
product is no longer a means to an end; the smart services developed around the product
enhance it, making it unique and valuable. A driverless vehicle can navigate passengers
safely and efficiently through traffic, giving them time to spend as they wish instead of
sitting behind the wheel in a traffic jam. Measurable results of the intelligent product can
also include lower costs, higher revenues, or improved environmental sustainability [23].
The everything-as-a-service concept (see Figure 2) stands for products and services that
focus on their outcomes. In as-a-service or outcome-oriented business models, companies
move from selling a product through a single transaction to providing a service with a
guaranteed outcome, often offered on a usage basis or via a profit/risk-sharing model.
Selling the outcome rather than the product shifts ownership, risk, and responsibility
for maintenance back to the provider. This is the example of the machine manufacturer
who rents the machine and charges on a usage basis instead of selling the machine. This
amortizes over a longer period of time, rather than immediately upon sale.
4
companies move from selling a product through a single transaction to providing a service
with a guaranteed outcome, often offered on a usage basis or via a profit/risk-sharing
model. Selling the outcome rather than the product shifts ownership, risk, and
responsibility for maintenance back to the provider. This is the example of the machine
Sci 2023, 5, 29manufacturer who rents the machine and charges on a usage basis instead of selling the
machine. This amortizes over a longer period of time, rather than immediately upon sale.
Figure 2. Value architecture of data-driven

Figure 2. Value architecturebusiness models
of data-driven (source:
business [24]).(source: [24]).
models
Another exampleAnother example isof

is the provision thefeatures
provision of features
that that can beon
can be activated activated
demandonand demand and
paid for as they are used. In this way, consumers
paid for as they are used. In this way, consumers can rent additional navigation andcan rent additional navigation and
infotainment services in order to arrive at their destination faster or more relaxed. Such
infotainment services in order to arrive at their destination faster or more relaxed. Such
as-a-service models are therefore outcome-based and often combined with flexible pricing.
as-a-service models are therefore outcome-based and often combined with flexible
This monetization approach is based on the in-app purchase model of the smartphone in-
pricing. This monetization
dustry, and itapproach is basedcustomer
enables an ongoing on therelationship
in-app purchase modelupselling
and continuous of the potential.
smartphone industry, and it enables an ongoing customer relationship and continuous
Upselling refers to the sales method of offering customers a higher-value—and usually
upselling potential.
moreUpselling refers to the
expensive—product thansales
theymethod
originallyof wanted
offering customers a higher-
[18].
value—and usually more expensive—product
The trend than they originally
towards “everything-as-a-service” wanted
(Xaas) is not [18].
new; it was already mar-
keted in the dot.com era with performance promises
The trend towards “everything-as-a-service” (Xaas) is not new; it was such as “holes instead of drilling” and
already
marketed in the dot.com era with performance promises such as “holes instead software
“temperature instead of air conditioning” [25]. However, the hardware and of per-
formance parameters and data are now much more comprehensive and cheaper to obtain,
drilling” and “temperature instead of air conditioning” [25]. However, the hardware and
allowing the more mature technology to break through on a broad scale. Software updates
software performance parameters and data are now much more comprehensive and
and the intelligent use of data generated during operation will make the product adaptable
cheaper to obtain,and
allowing the more
intelligent in themature
future. technology
This requirestoa break through
high level on a broadfrom
of competence scale.the product
Software updatesprovider
and the andintelligent use ofinvolved
the partners data generated during operation
in the innovation ecosystem.will make
After theproduct is
all, the
product adaptable and
not rigidintelligent in the future.
and interchangeable This requires
but dynamic a high level
and changeable; of competence
therefore, it is not completely
from the product provider and the partners involved in the innovation ecosystem.
predictable in its product behavior. This creates significant challenges forAfter
customization
all, the product isdevelopment,
not rigid and maintenance,
interchangeableand customer service.and
but dynamic Finally, software updates
changeable; therefore, must ensure
it is not completely predictable in its product behavior. This creates significant challenges product
that the product profile and feature set are maintained. To manage this complexity,
for customizationmanufacturers
development, need to build an entirely new, innovative ecosystem around their products,
maintenance, and customer service. Finally, software
or to collaborate with leading ecosystems through various platforms.
updates must ensure that the product profile and feature set are maintained. To manage
this complexity, 4.product manufacturers
On the Progress need to
of Servitization build anThree
in Industry: entirely new, Case
Empirical innovative
Studies from
Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Companies
ecosystem around their products, or to collaborate with leading ecosystems through
various platforms. Large amounts of data are available virtually free of charge from sensors, the Inter-
net, and other data sources. Collecting, structuring, evaluating, and interpreting these
data
4. On the Progress of presents an immense
Servitization potential
in Industry: that Empirical
Three can alreadyCase
be tapped
Studiesintofrom
today via artificial
intelligence platforms. These
Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Companies data are used to improve physical products or services. The
following examples show how specific added value can be created by intelligent services
Large amounts of data
in different areThe
areas. available
examplesvirtually free and
were collected of charge
preparedfrom
in thesensors,
context ofthe
a qualitative
Internet, and other data sources. Collecting, structuring,
company survey of the German AI platform [8]. evaluating, and interpreting
these data presents an immense potential that can already be tapped into today via
4.1. Case
artificial intelligence Study #1:These
platforms. The Refined
data Machine Tool—Smart
are used Services
to improve in Plastics
physical Processing
products or
services. The following Theexamples
Berlin-based manufacturing
show company
how specific India-Dreusicke
added value can beuses about by
created 70 machines
for plastics processing. Several times a week, the injection molds must be completely
disassembled, and the precision parts relubricated. If maintenance is not carried out as
planned, there is a risk of damage to machines, molds, or the product itself, resulting in high
costs, waiting times, and production downtime. This makes maintenance essential but also
5
4.1. Case Study #1: The Refined Machine Tool—Smart Services in Plastics Processing
The Berlin-based manufacturing company India-Dreusicke uses about 70 machines
for plastics processing. Several times a week, the injection molds must be completely
disassembled, and the precision parts relubricated. If maintenance is not carried out as
Sci 2023, 5, 29
planned, there is a risk of damage to machines, molds, or the product itself, resulting in
high costs, waiting times, and production downtime. This makes maintenance essential
but also costly and time-consuming. In addition, the exact timing of maintenance is
costly and time-consuming.
unpredictable, In addition,
so an intelligent servicethe exact
could timing
add of maintenance is unpredictable,
real value.
so an intelligent service could add real value.
With the help of predictive maintenance based on artificial intelligence methods, the
With the
possible help
time of predictive
window maintenance
for maintenance of thebased on artificial
systems should be intelligence
maximized, methods, the
and potential
possible time
faults in thewindow
systemsfor maintenance
should of the
be detected at systems
an earlyshould be maximized,
stage. Injection moldsand
are potential
large steel
faults in the systems should be detected at an early stage. Injection molds
elements into whose cavity the product is injected under very high pressure. Ejectors are large steel
then
elements
push the finished parts out of the mold. The necessary lubricating film in the moldsthen
into whose cavity the product is injected under very high pressure. Ejectors wears
push the finished
off gradually parts operation
during out of the and
mold. Thetherefore
must necessarybelubricating film in the molds wears
applied permanently.
off gradually during operation and must therefore be applied permanently.
The smart service is based on data pertaining to acoustic signals that indicate the
The smart
normal service
condition of aissystem
based oronadata pertaining
possible need forto maintenance.
acoustic signals that indicate
Together the
with a start-
normal condition of a system or a possible need for maintenance. Together
up company, the company collected the data over several months and then used them to with a start-up
company, the company collected the data over several months and then used them to train
train an AI system. Today, the AI system is able to detect acoustic impulses that are
an AI system. Today, the AI system is able to detect acoustic impulses that are inaudible to
inaudible to employees and to provide information about the optimal maintenance period
employees and to provide information about the optimal maintenance period for the system.
for the system. This allows for the early detection of damage or restrictions to the
This allows for the early detection of damage or restrictions to the machines, preventing
machines, preventing unplanned downtime or loss of production. At the same time,
unplanned downtime or loss of production. At the same time, necessary maintenance can
necessary maintenance can be scheduled and performed in a timely manner without
be scheduled and performed in a timely manner without jeopardizing the production goals.
jeopardizing the production goals. Microphones, software, and hardware products are
Microphones, software, and hardware products are used around the machine fleet for this
used around the machine fleet for this digital service.
digital service.
The added value of this intelligent maintenance approach lies in the more efficient
The added value of this intelligent maintenance approach lies in the more efficient
execution of maintenance work, as well as in cost and time savings achieved by
execution of maintenance work, as well as in cost and time savings achieved by minimizing
minimizing equipment downtime and production losses (see Figure 3). The data-based
equipment downtime and production losses (see Figure 3). The data-based value proposi-
tion can proposition
value can be linked
be linked to guaranteed to availability,
asset guaranteedwhich asset outperforms
availability, which
existingoutperforms
offerings
existing offerings that require machine maintenance
that require machine maintenance at fixed points in time. at fixed points in time.
Figure
Figure 3. 3. Acoustic
Acoustic analysis
analysis of of maintenance
maintenance needs
needs in in plastics
plastics processing
processing (source:
(source: own
own illustration,
illustration,
2023, based on based on [8]).
4.2. Case Study #2: Intelligent Planning Assistance—Smart Services in Metal Processing
META-Regalbau, a metalworking SME based in Arnsberg, Germany, develops and
produces shelving systems for commercial and private use. These include shelving and pal-
let racking, storage platforms, and multi-level shelving systems for industrial warehouses,
workshops, offices, and private rooms. The smart service aims to optimize internal logistics
processes via sensor and AI-based data analysis processes.
In the course of incoming shelving orders, logistics employees have to assemble many
individual components at different locations in the warehouse then pack them and prepare
them for outgoing goods. The picking process had a lot of potential for optimization, as
there were long waiting times for tools and the overall layout could be improved.
6
warehouses, workshops, offices, and private rooms. The smart service aims to optimize
internal logistics processes via sensor and AI-based data analysis processes.
In the course of incoming shelving orders, logistics employees have to assemble
many individual components at different locations in the warehouse then pack them and
Sci 2023, 5, 29 prepare them for outgoing goods. The picking process had a lot of potential for
optimization, as there were long waiting times for tools and the overall layout could be
improved.
To realize this potential, the picking process was analyzed together with a software
To realize this potential, the picking process was analyzed together with a software
service provider. By automatically analyzing the manual work processes (motion mining),
service provider. By automatically analyzing the manual work processes (motion mining),
important measurements could be taken in the warehouse. Small transmitters (Bluetooth
important measurements could be taken in the warehouse. Small transmitters (Bluetooth
beacons)were
beacons) wereattached
attachedtotothe
thewalls.
walls.Employees
Employeesalso alsowore
woresensors
sensorsasasthey
theywalked
walkedaround
around
thewarehouse
the warehouse to record
to record walking
walking distances
distances and waiting
and longer longer times
waiting times at
at shelves shelves or
or machines,
machines, as well as to analyze the existing picking process with the
as well as to analyze the existing picking process with the help of artificial intelligence. help of artificial
This
intelligence. This allowed the company to identify long tool queues
allowed the company to identify long tool queues and employee coordination needs and to and employee
coordination
redesign needsaccordingly.
the process and to redesign the process
The AI-based accordingly.
analysis enabled the The AI-based
company analysis
to design an
enabled the company to design an intelligent layout with the best
intelligent layout with the best possible arrangement for a new warehouse and to make possible arrangement
for a new
internal warehouse
logistics and to
processes make
more internalAccording
efficient. logistics processes more efficient.
to the company, the annualAccording
savingsto
the company, the annual savings amount to more than EUR 20,000,
amount to more than EUR 20,000, which means that the cooperation with the start-up which means that the
will
cooperation with the start-up will have
have already paid for itself in under two years. already paid for itself in under two years.
Thelogistics
The logisticsmanagement
managementactively
activelyinvolved
involvedthe theworks
workscouncil
councilandandemployees
employeesininthe the
process optimization (see Figure 4), informing them of the goal
process optimization (see Figure 4), informing them of the goal of the AI-based optimization of the AI-based
optimization
and and how the
how the technologies technologies
worked, which worked,
contributedwhich contributed
to the success oftothethe success
project. Inof the
this
project.
case, In this case,value
the data-based the data-based
propositionvalue proposition
can refer can refer
to an optimal to anprocess
picking optimalthat picking
can
process
deliver that shipment
faster can deliver offaster
goodsshipment
and higher of goods
customerandsatisfaction.
higher customer satisfaction.
Figure4.4.Smart
Figure Smartoptimization
optimizationofofthe
thepicking
pickingprocess
processininmetal
metalprocessing
processing(source:
(source:own
ownillustration,
illustration,
4.3.Case
4.3. CaseStudy
Study#3:
#3:Autonomous
AutonomousPalletizing—Smart
Palletizing—SmartServices
ServicesininWood
WoodProcessing
Processing
Eifelbrennholz,a small
Eifelbrennholz, a small company
company based
based in Monschau,
in Monschau, NorthNorth Rhine-Westphalia,
Rhine-Westphalia, Ger-
Germany,
many, has been
has been a producer
a producer and supplier
and supplier of firewood
of firewood for 25for 25 years.
years. The company
The company covers
covers all
stages of the firewood production process, from harvesting to processing to shipping. So
far, only private households are customers.
Business-to-business marketing to DIY stores or retailers has not yet been carried
out, as large customers only buy firewood on pallets for efficiency of storage and delivery
logistics. Manual palletizing is not economically viable in high-wage Germany. Therefore,
the company decided to automate the firewood handling process using a 6-axis kinematic
system. On the input side of the system, disordered firewood logs are identified using
computer vision technology. The software can recognize and classify objects such as logs in
digital still and moving images. The logs are then placed in a fixed arrangement on a pallet
by an automated gripping tool. Because each log has a unique, natural surface, traditional
bin-picking approaches (automated reaching into the box) cannot be used.
The intelligent service includes a cost-effective, autonomous pick-and-place appli-
cation for firewood handling which optimizes the overall process and can serve large
7
The intelligent service includes a cost-effective, autonomous pick-and-place
application for firewood handling which optimizes the overall process and can serve large
customers at competitive prices. This AI-based process for automating the palletizing of
firewood, developed with RWTH Aachen University and Digital in NRW, is based on
Sci 2023, 5, 29 appropriate camera technology (sensors) and gripping technology (actuators). A 3D
camera captures the disordered logs in lattice boxes. With the help of point clouds, a
digital image (digital twin) of each log is created. An algorithmic segmentation can
identify the geometry of the nearest trunk. The geometry of the trunks, the attack points,
customers at competitive prices. This AI-based process for automating the palletizing
the deposition structures, and the movement paths of the objects must be “learned” from
of firewood, developed with RWTH Aachen University and Digital in NRW, is based on
a new database and then algorithmically clustered.
appropriate camera technology (sensors) and gripping technology (actuators). A 3D camera
Based
captures theondisordered
these data, a robot
logs andboxes.
in lattice a custom
Withgripper can
the help of reliably pick up
point clouds, the uneven
a digital image
logs. AI twin)
(digital supports the log
of each robot in the autonomous
is created. An algorithmicpick-and-place
segmentationapplication (see
can identify theFigure 5).
geometry
The value proposition of this smart service is that autonomous log stacking
of the nearest trunk. The geometry of the trunks, the attack points, the deposition structures, can
guarantee measurable
and the movement savings
paths of the (labor
objects costs)
must be and revenuefrom
“learned” increases
a newby expanding
database the
and then
customer segment (key
algorithmically clustered. accounts). In this case, the investment in technology also pays off
for firewood producers in high-wage countries. In addition, regional fuel
Based on these data, a robot and a custom gripper can reliably pick up the uneventrade eliminates
the need
logs. for transportation,
AI supports the robot insaving costs and reducing
the autonomous the carbon
pick-and-place footprint.(see Figure 5).
application
Figure
Figure 5.5. Autonomous
Autonomous stacking
stacking of
of logs
logs in firewood production
in firewood production(source:
(source:own
ownillustration,
illustration,2023,
2023,based
based on
on [8]). [8]).
5. Discussion:
The valueData-Driven
proposition ofProduct andservice
this smart ServiceisRevolution
that autonomous log stacking can guar-
anteeSmart
measurable savings
data, smart (labor and
products, costs) and services
smart revenueareincreases by expanding
on the agenda of manythe customer
innovative
segment (key
companies. accounts).
Driven In this case,
by real-time the investment
5G networks, in technology
exponential growthalso pays off for
in compute andfirewood
storage
producers in high-wage countries. In addition, regional fuel trade eliminates the need for
transportation, saving costs and reducing the carbon footprint.
5. Discussion: Data-Driven Product and Service Revolution

Smart data, smart products, and smart services are on the agenda of many innovative
companies. Driven by real-time 5G networks, exponential growth in compute and storage
performance metrics, the near-infinite availability of sensor and Internet data, and advances
in machine and deep learning, business strategies are increasingly based on data-driven
value propositions and enhanced user experiences around products and services. Data are
being used not only to optimize processes and functions but also to create entirely new
business models. Data enables disruption, and data-driven innovation is revolutionizing
the one-sided-markets for products and services [26].
Data can contribute to a new kind of value proposition in a variety of ways, as
examples from manufacturing, online retail, and automotive industries have shown. At its
core, there are two thrusts: data can add value to a company’s most important resource,
or it can become the company’s most important resource. Companies that focus on the
latter—that is, using data as their primary key resource—are often startups; that is, they are
without extensive product and service offerings, traditional processes and organizational
structures, and a large number of demanding existing customers. Startups start “from
8
Sci 2023, 5, 29
scratch” and can radically put data at the center of their strategy. This is easier for startups
because they are not burdened by the structural inertia or legacy of an established large
company—an influencing factor often referred to as “the innovator’s dilemma” [27,28].
6. Conclusions
As large companies move toward data-driven value propositions and the delivery
of intelligent products and services, such as self-learning, predictive, personalized, and
speech processing, they will need to break down existing silos in order to fully leverage
data for the customer. Some companies are already doing this and experimenting with data
as a key resource; they are harnessing the power of innovation ecosystems, wherein they
form new value-creating partnerships with young and established players [29]. This is a
promising path, as the practical examples in this article and other practical studies from
industry and services have shown.
This requires a clear digital strategy within the company. After all, data are only
valuable if they are used to reorganize business processes or create new revenue models.
The memorable application examples from industry, services, and retail are intended
to inspire market participants with concrete learning paths and best-practice views to
resolutely implement their previously defined digital strategy and seize the opportunities
of the data and platform economy. The product of the future is intelligent and enhanced
by digital services. The benchmark has been set by digital pioneers; now, it is time to
implement it across the economy. This is important in order to remain globally competitive
with China, the U.S., and other leading innovation regions, and at the same time to enable
users to enjoy convincing performance promises and new experiences arising from the
digital product–service system.
Funding: This research was funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education, project title:
Plattform Lernende Systeme (2017–2022; funding number: 01IS17097).
Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank Ursula Ohliger and the other project members of
the Learning Systems Platform for their support in data collection and data preparation.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
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Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual
author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to
people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
10
Review
Ten Years of Industrie 4.0
Henning Kagermann 1, * and Wolfgang Wahlster 2, *
1 acatech—National Academy of Science and Engineering, 80333 Munich, Germany

2 German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), 10559 Berlin, Germany
* Correspondence: kagermann@acatech.de (H.K.); wahlster@dfki.de (W.W.)
Abstract: A decade after its introduction, Industrie 4.0 has been established globally as the dominant
paradigm for the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. Amalgamating research-based
results and practical experience from the German industry, this contribution reviews the progress
made in implementing Industrie 4.0 and identifies future fields of action from a technological and
application-oriented perspective. Putting the human in the center, Industrie 4.0 is the basis for
data-based value creation, innovative business models, and agile forms of organization. Today, in the
German manufacturing industry, the Internet of Things and cyber–physical production systems are a
reality in newly built factories, and the connectivity of machinery has been significantly increased in
existing factories. Now, the trends of industrial AI, edge computing up to the edge cloud, 5G in the
factory, team robotics, autonomous intralogistics systems, and trustworthy data infrastructures must
be leveraged to strengthen resilience, sovereignty, semantic interoperability, and sustainability. This
enables the creation of digital innovation ecosystems that ensure long-term adaptability in a volatile
economic and geopolitical environment. In sum, this review represents a comprehensive assessment
of the status quo and identifies what is needed in the future to reap the rewards of the groundwork
done in the first ten years of Industrie 4.0.
Keywords: Industrie 4.0; intelligent manufacturing; smart factories; industrial artificial intelligence;
digital twins; zero-defect manufacturing; digital ecosystems
Citation: Kagermann, H.; Wahlster,

W. Ten Years of Industrie 4.0. Sci 2022,
4, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ 1. Introduction
sci4030026
Our initial article, Industrie 4.0: With the Internet of Things Towards the 4th Industrial
Academic Editors: Sharifu Ura and Revolution, was published in German on 1 April 2011 in cooperation with Wolf-Dieter
Paolo Bellavista Lukas, shortly before the opening of the Hanover Fair took place [1]. At this time, under
the impact of the global financial crisis, we aimed to make the German economy more
Received: 18 May 2022
Accepted: 21 June 2022
resilient and competitive by strengthening adaptability and resource efficiency.
Published: 28 June 2022
This review discusses, from a conceptual and technological perspective, which ele-
ments of Industrie 4.0 have been fully implemented ten years after it had been drafted by us
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral and which technological trends are now required for deepening the digital transformation
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
of the manufacturing sectors.
published maps and institutional affil-
iations. 2. Industrie 4.0: From a Conceptual Framework to an International Brand
Our main idea was to merge real and virtual spaces in so-called cyber–physical
production systems, building on progress that German industry had already made with
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
the lighthouse projects on the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Services (IoS) [2].
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This was technologically interesting but would only have had an impact in specialist circles,
This article is an open access article not in practical implementation. Our term ‘Industrie 4.0’ got to the heart of the subject and
distributed under the terms and attracted significant attention.
conditions of the Creative Commons We received strong political support. As early as 3 April 2011, German Chancellor
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// Angela Merkel spontaneously picked up on the new brand ‘Industrie 4.0’ in her opening
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ speech at the Hanover Fair. However, also the business community, trade unions, and, very
4.0/). importantly, representatives of other industrialized countries recognized the magnitude of
11
Sci 2022, 4, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 10
Sci 2022, 4, 26
very importantly, representatives of other industrialized countries recognized the magni-
tude of this concept. Our initial focus on the manufacturing sector was of considerable
importance.
this concept. OurIt was widely
initial focusaccepted that economiessector
on the manufacturing with awas strong industrial backbone
of considerable importance.such
as Germany recovered faster and better from the global financial
It was widely accepted that economies with a strong industrial backbone such as Germany and economic crisis.
The term
recovered faster‘Industrie
and better4.0’ fromhas spread
the globalvirally andand
financial is now associated
economic crisis.with Germany all
overThetheterm
world, similar to ‘kindergarten’ and ‘autobahn’.
‘Industrie 4.0’ has spread virally and is now associated Industrie 4.0 is an export
with Germany hit that
all
has received attention and recognition in business, science, and
over the world, similar to ‘kindergarten’ and ‘autobahn’. Industrie 4.0 is an export politics around the globe.
hit
For has
that the received
first timeattention
in the high-tech world, we
and recognition have oncescience,
in business, again been able to around
and politics establishthe an
innovative concept from Germany internationally, after they had mostly
globe. For the first time in the high-tech world, we have once again been able to establish come from North
America
an or Asia
innovative for many
concept fromyears.
GermanyIndustrie 4.0 has made
internationally, Europe
after the most
they had mostlyinnovative
come from fac-
tory supplier of the world. There does not exist any ‘smart factory’
North America or Asia for many years. Industrie 4.0 has made Europe the most innovative anywhere in the world
factory
where supplier of the world.
a large number Thereand
of software does not existcomponents
hardware any ‘smart does factory’
not anywhere
come frominEuro- the
world where a large
pean companies. numberfor
However, of software and hardware
the next decade components
of Industrie does not come
4.0, the continuing fromof
support
European
stakeholderscompanies. However, forcooperation
and international the next decade are of Industrieto4.0,
required the the
reap continuing
rewards support
of the
ofgroundwork
stakeholders andininternational
done cooperation
the first ten years are required
of Industrie to reap
4.0. This also the rewards
encapsulates of the
leveraging
groundwork done inindustrial
the six key trends: the first tenAI,years
edge of Industrieup
computing 4.0.toThis
the also
edgeencapsulates
cloud, 5G in leveraging
the factory,
the six key trends: industrial AI, edge computing up to the edge cloud, 5G in the factory,
team robotics, autonomous intralogistics systems, and trustworthy data infrastructures.
team robotics, autonomous intralogistics systems, and trustworthy data infrastructures.
3. Basic Prerequisite and Success Factor: Putting the Human at the Center
3. BasicThePrerequisite
networkingand andSuccess Factor:
connectivity of Putting the Humanobjects
people, intelligent at the and
Center
machines, the use
The networkingarchitectures,
of service-oriented and connectivity
and of
thepeople, intelligent
composition objects and
of services and data
machines, the use
from different
ofsources
service-oriented architectures, and the composition of services and data from
to form new business processes is opening opportunities. Industrie 4.0 does not different
sources
lead to to form new
factories business
empty processes
of people. On theis contrary,
opening opportunities.
employees are Industrie
supported4.0bydoes not
physical
lead
andto factoriesassistance
cognitive empty of systems
people. On the contrary,
realized employees
by collaborative are supported
robots by physical
(Cobots) and software
and cognitive
agents assistance
(Softbots), which systems
support realized
the humansby collaborative robots (Cobots)
in complex manufacturing and(see
tasks software
Figure
agents
1). (Softbots), which support the humans in complex manufacturing tasks (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. A Cobot and a Softbot helping a human worker (Source: DFKI).

Figure 1. A Cobot and a Softbot helping a human worker (Source: DFKI).
Industrie4.0
Industrie 4.0isisthe
thebasis
basisfor
fordata-based
data-basedvalue
valuecreation,
creation,innovative
innovativebusiness
businessmodels,
models,
andagile
and agileforms
formsofoforganization,
organization,but
butalso
alsofor
fornew
newsolutions
solutionsininareas
areassuch
suchasasenergy,
energy,health,
health,
and mobility.
and mobility.
This
Thisvision
visionisiscompelling
compellingbecause
becauseititputs
putspeople
peopleininthe
thecenter,
center,promising
promisingsignificant
significant
progress for the economy and society at large. In economic terms, it initially involved a shifta
progress for the economy and society at large. In economic terms, it initially involved
from
shifttraditional automation
from traditional with predetermined
automation outcomes
with predetermined to learning
outcomes to and self-adapting
learning and self-
machines and environments that respond in real time to changes in customer demand, as
well as to unexpected disruptions. This is accompanied by a move from mass production to
12
Sci 2022, 4, 26
mass customization, i.e., the competitively priced production of individualized, tailor-made

artefacts [3].
In social terms, the focus was set on implementing social partnerships for Industrie
4.0. Therefore, trade unions were closely involved in the entire process and contributed
constructively. Focus points were set on the promise of better and more meaningful
human–machine cooperation without the fear of losing control, the creation of jobs through
‘nearshoring’, and the inclusion of older and disabled people, supported by physical and
cognitive worker assistance systems.
Ecologically, resource and energy efficiency has been a central goal from the outset:
Industrie 4.0 has the potential to establish a circular economy that decouples economic
growth from resource consumption. Sustainability through upcycling and the resilient
factory have been two of the use cases proposed in our recommendations [3].
4. Key Challenge: Managing the Digital Transformation of the

Manufacturing Industry
The success of Industrie 4.0 is closely interrelated with the broad support of the
mainstays of society. The wide-scale roll-out of Industrie 4.0 during the last ten years
was based on the effective cooperation of trade unions, industry, politics, and academia,
institutionalizing their collaboration via an appropriate digital and organizational platform.
Industrie 4.0 has set standards for how quickly a concept that initially emerged in cutting-
edge research can develop out of companies and industry associations and, with the
active accompaniment and support of the trade unions, can lead Germany to success as a
location for business and innovation. Today, Industrie 4.0 is at the top of the agenda for
federal policy—in the past ten years, more than 1000 project consortia, 10,000 conferences,
and 100,000 publications have dealt with its technical and scientific implementation (see
wiso-net.de in www.genios.de, accessed on 4 June 2022).
The Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber–physical systems are now a reality in newly
built factories [4]. At the same time, in existing factories, the connectivity between machines,
tools, workpieces, and skilled workers was improved, relying on various migration and
bridging technologies for Industrie 4.0 [4]. Retrofitting—the digital upgrade with new
low-cost sensors and their wireless connectivity—is steadily advancing. More and more
production steps can be monitored in real time through multi-sensor fusion—for example,
for quality control. The emerging product controls its own production via its digital
twin. As in a marketplace, it selects the production services that match the customer’s
requirements, relying on the digital twins of the networked production facilities.
Today, there are a number of ‘smart factories’ that implement the basic principles
of Industrie 4.0 [5,6], including ‘Plug & Produce’ and the virtual commissioning of new
plant components relying on various types of digital twins (e.g., product twins, process
twins, or machining twins), as well as cycle-independent matrix production architectures
or multi-agent architectures, with heterarchical and modular holonic control regimes, with
configurable production cells and short set-up and changeover times even for the smallest
batch sizes, and with a high degree of product individualization. This also holds for variable
intralogistics combined with real-time production planning, as well as for location-based
services for all workers, operating resources, and the products being created. Factory floor
positioning has been greatly improved for mobile systems such as autonomous forklifts
using AI-based visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) techniques. GPU
computing for the massively parallel execution of neural networks on very powerful
graphics cards has significantly improved the necessary recognition of landmarks to enable
the free and precise navigation of mobile robots.
After the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to develop solutions to
avoid disruptions in supply chains or production stoppage due to short-term staff short-
ages [7]. Home-office technologies are hardly helpful in this regard. So-called ‘home
workbenches’ that enable the mobile control, maintenance, and repair of factory equipment
13
Sci 2022, 4, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 10
workbenches’ that enable the mobile control, maintenance, and repair of factory equip-
Sci 2022, 4, 26
ment as software solutions with remote access to cyber–physical systems through tele-
operation with physical avatars are needed instead.
as What
5. software
Is solutions
Next? New withMegatrends
remote accessfor
to cyber–physical
the Next Decadesystems through tele-operation
of Industrie 4.0
with physical avatars are needed instead.
What is next? We must continue to drive semantic interoperability and internationa
5. What Is Next?
collaboration inNewopenMegatrends
ecosystems. forSix
thenew
Nextmegatrends
Decade of Industrie 4.0
(see illustration in Figure 2) wil
What isinfluence
decisively next? We the must continue to drive
development of thesemantic
next 10interoperability
years: industrial and AI,
international
edge computing
collaboration
up to the edge in cloud,
open ecosystems. Six new team
5G in the factory, megatrends (seeautonomous
robotics, illustration inintralogistics
Figure 2) willsystems
decisively
and influence
trustworthy the development
data infrastructures. of the next 10 years: industrial AI, edge computing
up toIndustrial
the edge cloud, 5G in the factory,
AI will enable a second team
waverobotics, autonomousof
of digitalization intralogistics
production. systems,
The first level
and trustworthy data infrastructures.
making all production and supply chain data available digitally and mobile via cloud sys-
Industrial AI will enable a second wave of digitalization of production. The first
tems, is largely achieved. These data can now be analyzed by AI systems in real time and
level, making all production and supply chain data available digitally and mobile via
interpreted
cloud systems, in iscontext
largelyeven on the
achieved. edgedata
These (e.g.,
cansignal-based
now be analyzed machine
by AIlearning
systems with
in time
delay on sensors [8]) so that they can be actively used for new value
real time and interpreted in context even on the edge (e.g., signal-based machine learning chains and business
with time delay on sensors [8]) so that they can be actively used for new value chains and
models.
business
Withmodels.
digital training data for machine learning systems, AI systems can be used not
With digital
only for predictive training data for machine
maintenance, which islearning
already systems,
widespread, AI systems can be used
but increasingly for incre-
not only for predictive maintenance, which is already widespread,
mental quality control, mostly via video sensors. Thus, the next phase of Industrie but increasingly for 4.0 wil
incremental quality control, mostly via video sensors. Thus, the next phase of Industrie
aim for AI-based zero-defect production (see Section 6). Self-learning capability and mod-
4.0 will aim for AI-based zero-defect production (see Section 6). Self-learning capability
ular long-term autonomy rather than simple automation will characterize the new gener-
and modular long-term autonomy rather than simple automation will characterize the new
ation of ‘smart
generation of ‘smartfactories’
factories’ and, ininaddition
and, addition to extremeflexibility,
to extreme flexibility, guarantee
guarantee extremely ro-
extremely
bust
robustproduction,
production, high occupational
high occupational safety,
safety, energy
energy efficiency,
efficiency, and a and
highadegree
high degree of resource
of resource
conservation. AAcapability-oriented
conservation. capability-oriented production
production architecture ensures
architecture expandability
ensures and
expandability and
mutability at the next level of Industrie 4.0 to respond quickly to volatility
mutability at the next level of Industrie 4.0 to respond quickly to volatility in the markets in the markets.
Figure
Figure 2.2.Megatrends
Megatrends forfor
thethe next
next level
level of Industrie
of Industrie 4.0 (own
4.0 (own illustration).
illustration).
In
In5G5Gcampus
campus networks,
networks,edgeedge
devices can exploit
devices the high the
can exploit bandwidth and low latency
high bandwidth and low la-
guaranteed with 5G to build a local edge cloud that can then meet real-time requirements
tency guaranteed with 5G to build a local edge cloud that can then meet real-time require-
on the factory
ments on the floor. Mobile
factory floor.and real-time
Mobile andteleoperation, combined with
real-time teleoperation, multimodal
combined sensor
with multimoda
fusion, will also enable remote maintenance, repair, and installation.
sensor fusion, will also enable remote maintenance, repair, and installation.
In ‘smart factories’, intra-logistic planning and production planning are coordinated
In ‘smart factories’, intra-logistic planning and production planning are coordinated
in real time, highly flexibly: mobile robots, factory drones, and driverless transport systems
in real that
ensure time,
thehighly flexibly:
parts and mobilefor
tools needed robots, factory
the next planneddrones, and driverless
production transport sys-
step are available
tems ensure that the parts and tools needed for the
just in time, at the right production island (see Figure 3). next planned production step are avail-
able just in time, at the right production island (see Figure 3).
14
Sci 2022,4,4,26x FOR PEER REVIEW
Sci2022, 5 of 10
Figure3.3.Industrie
Figure Industrie4.0
4.0ininaasmart
smartfactory
factory(Source:
(Source:SmartFactory
SmartFactoryKL
KL and DFKI IFS).
and DFKI IFS).
Production
Productionplanningplanningisisrevolutionized
revolutionized bybya new
a new service-oriented
service-oriented production
production architec-
archi-
ture: the specification of the digital twin of the emerging product tries to find production
tecture: the specification of the digital twin of the emerging product tries to find produc-
capabilities that will
tion capabilities thattransform the semi-finished
will transform the semi-finished productproduct
into its intofinalitsstate.
finalThus,
state.digital
Thus,
twins
digitalbecome active agents
twins become activeinagents
a multi-agent architecture,
in a multi-agent where thewhere
architecture, requiredthe skills of work-
required skills
ers
of and machines
workers are coordinated
and machines in real time.inThis
are coordinated realenables
time. Thisthe specification of products by
enables the specification of
semantic
productsmatchmaking.
by semantic matchmaking.
Hybrid
Hybridteams teamsofof workers
workers andandcollaborative
collaborative robots withwith
robots different skill skill
different sets enable a newa
sets enable
form
new offormteam of robotics that focuses
team robotics on human–machine
that focuses on human–machine interaction
interaction led by ledskilled human
by skilled hu-
personnel.
man personnel. To solveTo complex
solve complexmanufacturing
manufacturing tasks, tasks,
they are theyworking
are workinghand-in-hand with
hand-in-hand
robots as a team.
with robots as a team.
Data
Datainfrastructures
infrastructuresmust mustintegrate
integrate industry
industry requirements
requirements forfordata sovereignty,
data sovereignty, decen-de-
tralization
centralizationin heterogeneous
in heterogeneous multi-cloud systems,
multi-cloud and edge
systems, andsupport.
edge support.After the first the
After decade
first
of Industrie
decade 4.0, factories
of Industrie digitally record,
4.0, factories digitallytransmit, and store and
record, transmit, all production and machine
store all production and
data
machine data as sensors capture all relevant process data on edge devices. step
as sensors capture all relevant process data on edge devices. This is a first Thistowards
is a first
higher productivity
step towards higherand more transparency
productivity and moreoftransparency
manufacturing of processes.
manufacturing However, the
processes.
interpretation
However, theof these data sources
interpretation of thesestilldata
requires
sources manual data analysis
still requires manual by data
human experts
analysis by
using various digital data visualization and data analysis tools.
human experts using various digital data visualization and data analysis tools. Due to the Due to the massive amount
of data provided
massive amount in of real
datatime in an Industrie
provided in real time 4.0 in
factory, human 4.0
an Industrie datafactory,
analysts will soon
human data
reach their limits.
analysts will soon reach their limits.
An
Animportant
important goal goal for the next
for the next decade
decadeofofIndustrie
Industrie4.0 4.0is istherefore
therefore thethe automatic
automatic in-
interpretation
terpretation of industrial data based on artificial intelligence (AI). It is an enabler,e.g.,
of industrial data based on artificial intelligence (AI). It is an enabler, e.g.,for
for
zero-defect
zero-defectproduction,
production,and andititisisthe
thedecisive
decisiveinnovation
innovationto toensure
ensurethat thatthethesuperior
superiorquality
quality
ofofour products remains a unique selling point compared
our products remains a unique selling point compared to similar products to similar products from the the
from US USor
China. This requires the implementation of the entire cognition
or China. This requires the implementation of the entire cognition cycle from perceiving cycle from perceiving over
understanding
over understanding to acting, with allwith
to acting, phases
all supported by various
phases supported by formsvarious of machine
forms of learning
machine
relying
learning relying on digital mass data from cloud and edge platforms [9]In
on digital mass data from cloud and edge platforms [9] (p. 68). (p.addition, we
68). In addi-
must enable industrial AI systems to learn new knowledge not only autonomously from
tion, we must enable industrial AI systems to learn new knowledge not only autono-
empirical data but also from being taught by human experts in interactive human–machine
mously from empirical data but also from being taught by human experts in interactive
conversations, or from machine understanding of relevant technical documents.
human–machine conversations, or from machine understanding of relevant technical doc-
uments.
15
FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 10
6. Strategic Field of Action I: Towards Zero-Defect Manufacturing Based on Industrial

Sci 2022, 4, 26 AI
Zero-defect manufacturing can create a competitive advantage over ‘low-wage and
low-tech countries’, since most consumers prefer high-quality, reliable, and sustainable
6. Strategic Field of Action I: Towards Zero-Defect Manufacturing Based on
products, evenIndustrial
if they comeAI with a somewhat higher price. Detecting anomalies and de-
fects in the production process too late causes immense costs and has a negative impact
Zero-defect manufacturing can create a competitive advantage over ‘low-wage and
on sustainability and productivity,
low-tech as itmost
countries’, since leads to an enormous
consumers waste of time,
prefer high-quality, energy,
reliable, and and
sustainable
material. It is therefore
products, even if they come with a somewhat higher price. Detecting anomaliessuch
of the utmost importance to detect, explain, and eliminate and defects
in the
errors as early as production process
possible—ideally too late causes
immediately whenimmense costs and has
they occur—by a negative
taking impact on sus-
appropriate
measures. tainability and productivity, as it leads to an enormous waste of time, energy, and material.
It is therefore
Typical sources of the
of errors areutmost importance
the incorrect to detect,
actions explain, and
of a worker or aeliminate
robot, orsuch errors as early
the incor-
rect interactionasofpossible—ideally
workers and robots immediately when they
in the process. occur—by
AI-based plantaking appropriate
recognition, measures.
intention,
Typical sources of errors are the incorrect actions of a worker or a robot, or the incorrect
and interaction recognition modules use video streams, wearable sensors, and IoT devices
interaction of workers and robots in the process. AI-based plan recognition, intention, and
for incrementalinteraction
error detection. Thus, instead of one big loop for error correction after the
recognition modules use video streams, wearable sensors, and IoT devices for
traditional finalincremental
quality check of the product,
error detection. Thus,the nextofgeneration
instead one big loopof for
systems consists ofafter the
error correction
many small quality management
traditional loops.
final quality This
check eliminates
of the product,the
theneed for final inspection
next generation of systemsand consists of
manyof
partial disassembly small
the quality
alreadymanagement
finished butloops.
faultyThis eliminates
product the need
for repair forFigure
(see final inspection
4). and
partial disassembly of the already finished but faulty product for repair (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. AI-based quality

Figure management
4. AI-based quality with incremental
management error recognition
with incremental (own illustration).
error recognition (own illustration).
Of course, the Of course,

earliest the to
time earliest timedetect
reliably to reliably detect anaction,
an incorrect incorrect action, interaction,
interaction, or out- or out-
of-control state is the moment it emerges. For this purpose, relevant quality-, task-, and
of-control state is the moment it emerges. For this purpose, relevant quality-, task-, and
interaction-specific parameters and constraints are continuously evaluated by AI-based
interaction-specific parameters and constraints are continuously evaluated by AI-based
methods during incremental real-time checks. These AI-based methods combine statistical
methods during incremental
deep real-time
learning methods onchecks.
diverseThese
sensorAI-based methods
data streams combinemodels
with semantic statisti-
encoded
cal deep learning methods
in digital on and
twins diverse sensor
symbolic data streams
reasoning. with
As real semantic
recorded datamodels encoded
for training models are
in digital twinsoften
andnot available,
symbolic synthetic data
reasoning. mustrecorded
As real be generated,
datae.g.,
for through
trainingaccurate
modelssimulations
are
involving
often not available, digitaldata
synthetic twins.
must be generated, e.g., through accurate simulations
Detected errors must be immediately reported to the responsible workers with a
involving digital twins.
comprehensive
Detected errors must beexplanation
immediately andreported
a checklist
totothe
avoid them in the
responsible future and
workers withona how to
proceed further if the error occurs. This requires intelligent user interfaces with massively
comprehensive explanation and a checklist to avoid them in the future and on how to
multimodal explanation capabilities for human workers and production experts.
proceed further if the error occurs. This requires intelligent user interfaces with massively
Thus, not only deep learning but also deep understanding by AI systems need to
multimodal explanation capabilities
be strengthened for human
in the next decade workers and4.0
of Industrie production
to allow for experts.
the implementation of
Thus, not explainable,
only deep learning but also
more robust, anddeep understanding
trustworthy by AI
systems (see systems
[10]). needinclude
We must to be novel
strengthened in the next decade of Industrie 4.0 to allow for the implementation
architectures beyond current deep learning, capturing causality and meta-learning of ex-
to enable
plainable, moremore powerful
robust, forms of compositional
and trustworthy systems (seegeneralization.
[10]). We mustOn the one hand,
include current
novel archi-machine
tectures beyond learning
currentsystems lack the ability
deep learning, to leverage
capturing the invariances
causality included intocausal
and meta-learning enablerelations,
more powerful forms of compositional generalization. On the one hand, current machine [11].
which would be needed to boost their generalizability, robustness, and explainability
learning systems lack the ability to leverage the invariances included in causal relations,
16
dimensional settings, where current machine learning systems excel. Recently, a shif
research direction and new tools are opening the door to the development of novel ar
tectures for addressing more sophisticated tasks, capturing causality and systematic g
Sci 2022, 4, 26 eralization in error diagnosis, repair planning, and recovery. We predict that meta-lea
ing, compositional generalization, and representation learning are needed for the n
generation of industrial AI systems during the next decade of Industrie 4.0.
Current causal inference methods, on the other hand, lack the ability to scale up to higher-
dimensional
7. Strategic settings,
Field whereII:
of Action current machine
Shaping learning
Digital systems excel. Recently, a shift
Ecosystems
in research direction and new tools are opening the door to the development of novel
In 2019, experts
architectures from the
for addressing ‘Platform
more Industrie
sophisticated 4.0’ updated
tasks, capturing theand
causality vision of Industrie
systematic
generalization
for 2030 with theinheadline
error diagnosis,
‘Shapingrepair planning,
digital and recovery.
ecosystems We predict
globally’ [12]. that
Wemeta-
must conti
learning, compositional generalization, and representation learning
to drive semantic interoperability and international collaboration in openare needed for the next
ecosyste
generation of industrial AI systems during the next decade of Industrie 4.0.
which permits plurality, diversity, flexibility, and a corporate culture of sharing succ
with7.business partners.
Strategic Field WeII:strive
of Action Shaping forDigital
a sustainable
Ecosystems economy where economic growt
decoupled fromexperts
In 2019, resourcefrom consumption.
the ‘Platform Industrie We also strive for
4.0’ updated the sovereignty—self-determ
vision of Industrie 4.0
for 2030
tion—at all with theIn
levels. headline ‘Shapingeconomy,
a networked digital ecosystems globally’ [12]. We
self-determination must above
means, continue all, the f
to drive semantic interoperability and international collaboration
dom to select the technology of choice, the business partner of choice, the location in open ecosystems,
which permits plurality, diversity, flexibility, and a corporate culture of sharing success
choice—especially
with business partners.the place where
We strive fordata are stored
a sustainable and processed
economy where economic in accordance
growth is with
legaldecoupled
system in force
from there.
resource Against the
consumption. We background of recent developments and geopo
also strive for sovereignty—self-determination—
at all levels. In a networked economy, self-determination
ical challenges and the resulting shortages and bottlenecks means, inabove all, the
supply freedom
chains, with sign
to select the technology of choice, the business partner of
cant effects on industrial value creation, in particular, rethinking the security choice, the location of choice— and re
especially the place where data are stored and processed in accordance with the legal
encesystem
of supply becomes more important. Diversified supply chains and the ability to
in force there. Against the background of recent developments and geopolitical
design value and
challenges chains on demand
the resulting seamlessly
shortages and bottlenecksare fundamental
in supply chains, in with
this significant
regard. In the n
phaseeffects on industrial
of Industrie 4.0,value creation,must
companies in particular,
therefore rethinking
exploitthe security
the and resilience
advantages of facto
of digital
supply becomes more important. Diversified supply chains
and distributed modular production architectures to build trustworthy and reliable and the ability to redesign
value chains on demand seamlessly are fundamental in this regard. In the next phase of
dustrial digital ecosystems [13,14].
Industrie 4.0, companies must therefore exploit the advantages of digital factories and
An additional
distributed modular challenge
production is architectures
business model innovation:
to build trustworthyunderstanding the custom
and reliable industrial
processes and extracting
digital ecosystems [13,14]. enterprise value from customer value. The value proposition
a digitalAn additionalischallenge
economy is business
smart services model
[15]: innovation: understanding
individualized product–service the customers’
bundles on
processes and extracting enterprise value from customer
mand, with superior user experience and low effort in switching to alternative value. The value proposition in a busin
digital economy is smart services [15]: individualized product–service bundles on demand,
partners. The supporting value-creating architecture is illustrated in Figure 5, demonst
with superior user experience and low effort in switching to alternative business partners.
ing the
Theneed to rethink
supporting and reengineer
value-creating architecture business processes
is illustrated as well
in Figure as workplaces
5, demonstrating the exploit
need to of
the power rethink
AI [16]andandreengineer
replacingbusiness
manual processes as well asroutine
or cognitive workplaces exploiting
tasks the
by autonomous s
tems.power of AI
For all [16] and replacing
activities manual
of the value or cognitive
chain, dynamic routine tasks bynetworks
business autonomous mustsystems.
be establis
withFor all activities of the value chain, dynamic business networks must be established with
dedicated orchestration models and governance. Obviously, a secure and trustw
dedicated orchestration models and governance. Obviously, a secure and trustworthy
thy data supplychain
data supply chain andand frictionless
frictionless interoperability
interoperability in technological
in technological and businessand termsbusiness
are ter
are fundamental
fundamental forfor success
success (see Figure
(see Figure 5). 5).
Figure 5. The
Figure digital
5. The digitalenterprise (ownillustration).
enterprise (own illustration).
Digital
Digital enterprises have
enterprises havehigher capabilities
higher to operate
capabilities in digital value
to operate creation
in digital network
value creation n
models. Within these decentralized networks of firms, governed by reciprocity and shared
work models. Within these decentralized networks of firms, governed by reciprocity
17
Sci 2022, 4, 26
success, collaborative and coordinated elements for joint value creation are balanced to
pursue the joint development of platform-oriented business models [17].
Digital ecosystems are the base layer and are dependent on a digital economy because
many of the ecosystem members operate in different countries under different regulations
and legal conditions [18,19]. This is why international cooperation on standards and secure
data exchange across borders are of the utmost importance, particularly to guarantee
sovereignty in an interconnected digital economy.
Many efforts have been undertaken in European initiatives such as Gaia-X in building a
data infrastructure allowing for the sovereign exchange of data supported by an architecture
for data spaces comprising technological standards, guidelines, and rules [20].
8. Outlook: Industrie 4.0 Has Still a Long Way to Go

For the next decade of Industrie 4.0, we even need to go beyond today’s cloud and
multi-cloud systems, since advanced distributed production systems need sky computing
as a cloud of clouds [21]. Today’s cloud market is fragmented, with many proprietary
services running on proprietary hardware accelerators (e.g., TPUs, GPUs) and offering
incompatible APIs. Based on the compatibility and intercloud layers of the emerging sky
computing platforms, APIs can be used without changes, allowing applications to run on
multiple clouds transparently. Such platforms are urgently needed if we want to realize
the vision of full circular economy loops in distributed solutions for Industrie 4.0 with
thousands of data providers and data consumers.
Many of the challenges of Industrie 4.0 are transnational and require continued interna-
tional cooperation. We must simultaneously preserve our digital sovereignty while sharing
our knowledge, experience, and best practices internationally. Other countries will favor
different solutions in some cases, due to different political systems or culturally different
approaches to problem solving. Nevertheless, our answer can only be self-determination
and open collaboration based on our own values. For example, we presented the first
comprehensive AI standardization roadmap in December 2020 [22].
We must not reduce our efforts in research and innovation for the next phase of this
fourth industrial revolution. For the second wave of industrial digitalization, a major
investment in industrial AI is required. Digital twins, which are already of the utmost
importance in almost all sectors of industry, will become even more decisive. The semantic
interoperability of software and hardware components plays a crucial role, especially to
ensure international market access for German SMEs and startups, but also to safeguard
Europe’s technological sovereignty.
Standards, norms, and certificates are decisive drivers for interoperable solutions.
The Asset Administration Shell (AAS), developed by the Platform Industrie 4.0 [23], is a
promising attempt in this regard. Semantic interoperability also contributes to strength-
ening ecological sustainability, e.g., an AAS-based demonstrator, developed by Platform
Industrie 4.0 and CESMI, creates transparency regarding greenhouse gas emissions across
the value chain [24]. These factors deserve specific attention in the future.
In the next decade of Industrie 4.0, the continuing support of policymakers, trade
unions, and civil society is needed, in addition to substantial funding for research and
innovation. Only in this case can the economic, social, and ecological fruits of the significant
investments in the first decade of the fourth industrial revolution emanating from Germany
be harvested.
Author Contributions: H.K. and W.W. have developed all sections of the paper jointly. All authors
have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
18
Sci 2022, 4, 26
Acknowledgments: We are grateful for the input and valuable discussions with members of Plattform
Industrie 4.0 and Feldafinger Kreis.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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20
Concept Paper
Digital Twins in Manufacturing: A RAMI 4.0 Compliant Concept
Martin Lindner 1, * , Lukas Bank 2 , Johannes Schilp 2 and Matthias Weigold 1
1 Institute of Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools (PTW), Technical University of
Darmstadt, Otto-Berndt-Str. 2, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany; m.weigold@ptw.tu-darmstadt.de
2 Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, Am Technologiezentrum 10,
86159 Augsburg, Germany; lukas.bank@igcv.fraunhofer.de (L.B.); johannes.schilp@igcv.fraunhofer.de (J.S.)
* Correspondence: m.lindner@ptw.tu-darmstadt.de
Abstract: Digital twins are among the technologies that are considered to have high potential. At
the same time, there is no uniform understanding of what this technology means. Definitions are
used across disciplinary boundaries, resulting in a multitude of different interpretations. The concepts
behind the terms should be clearly named to transfer knowledge and bundle developments in
digitalization. In particular, the Reference Architectural Model for Industry (RAMI) 4.0, as the guiding
concept of digitalization, should be in harmony with the terms to be able to establish a contradiction-
free relationship. This paper therefore summarizes the most important definitions and descriptions
from the scientific community. By evaluating the relevant literature, a concept is derived. The concept
presented in this work concretizes the requirements and understanding of digital twins in the frame of
RAMI 4.0 with a focus on manufacturing. It thus contributes to the understanding of the technology.
In this way, the concept is intended to contribute to the implementation of digital twins in this context.
Keywords: digital twin; digital manufacturing; Industry 4.0
1. Introduction
Digital tools are becoming increasingly important in industrial production to improve
decision-making processes and deal with increasing complexity [1]. The individualization of
products and the resulting decrease in the number of units are a major complexity driver [2,3].
Currently, the high energy prices, at least in Western Europe, and thus the need to consider
Citation: Lindner, M.; Bank, L.;
Schilp, J.; Weigold, M. Digital Twins
these in decisions are to be mentioned as an additional complexity factor. In the factory
in Manufacturing: A RAMI 4.0
itself, heterogeneous production landscapes and many different systems are mentioned as
Compliant Concept. Sci 2023, 5, 40.
a challenge in the management of complexity [4]. Digital twins (DTs), on the other hand,
https://doi.org/10.3390/sci5040040 offer the opportunity to combine data from different sources to deal with high complexity
and thus to support the decision-making process [4,5]. Although DT have been identified in
Academic Editor: Johannes Winter
many places as a technology with enormous potential, there is no uniform understanding of
Received: 12 July 2023 the term. This is partly due to the different application areas with their individual questions
Revised: 18 September 2023 and requirements. Although DTs were originally developed as a safeguard for in-service
Accepted: 26 September 2023 objects in [6], most definitions refer to product development or are dedicated to a specific
Published: 10 October 2023 use, e.g., aviation [7]. However, the focus on the product has remained. Approaches to using
existing models from development in further life cycle phases have existed for some time.
Depending on the timeline in the life cycle of an object, the motivation and thus also the
requirement for the DT changes. The classification is usually not considered in the definition,
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
which means that definitions of DT are sometimes contradictory. Therefore, placing the
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
definitions in their context is crucial. Furthermore, the definitions should be compatible
This article is an open access article
with the concepts of digitalization.
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
This paper brings together the different definitions and provides an overview, and
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
a concept of how DT can support factory operations. In the process of developing the
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
concept, the different developments in connection with DT are addressed. For example, the
4.0/). Reference Architectural Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) architecture is worth mentioning
21
Sci 2023, 5, 40
in German-speaking countries. This provides a framework for digitizing the factory, so a

definition for the DT should be compatible with the RAMI 4.0 architecture. In this way,
this work contributes to distinguishing the developments in the area of the digital twin
from other digitization efforts, using a clear understanding and thus creating clarity. On
the other hand, a superordinate concept is to be created that enables the development of
digital twins and architectures based on RAMI 4.0 without contradictions.
2. State of the Art and Research

2.1. RAMI 4.0 Architecture
RAMI 4.0 is a cubic layer model and is defined in the DIN SPEC 91345 [8] (see Figure 1).
The dimensions of the cube describe the architecture of assets, their life cycle, and their
assignment to a hierarchy level.
Figure 1. Figure of the Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) (source: [8]).
Layers describe the assets in their respective tasks or functions. The description cate-
gories are the classification in the business process, the function of the asset, the information,
the communication, and the integration of the physical asset into the virtual world. Not
all layers must be used at all times. For integration, the guideline provides the concept
of the asset administration shell. In the AAS, the asset can be described digitally, with a
communication interface to the physical system. In this way, the AAS can be understood
not only as a digital representation but also as a gateway between the virtual and real world.
The AAS manages all the essential data for an asset from creation to end of life [8,9].
The life cycle of assets is divided into two sections. The type section describes, as the
name implies, the type of asset, i.e., in our example, a model series of a machine as shown
in Figure 2. This section of the life cycle consists of a development phase and a utilization
phase. In the development phase, when asset properties are defined, the AAS is created in
parallel, which manages the general information for this type. As soon as an instance of this
type is produced, an AAS is also derived for this instance, which contains information of
that type and is additionally specific to this instance. Dynamic data are then added during
the operation of the asset.
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Sci 2023, 5, 40
Figure 2. Life cycle of assets (source: own illustration adapted from ref. [8]).
The hierarchy levels place the asset in the factory structure. The axis starts with the
product, so the output of an asset is integrated into the consideration as a component. On
the other side, the highest level describes the connection to other assets or summarizing
instances. In between are the organizational units of the manufacturing process.
2.2. Asset Administration Shell (AAS)

The AAS is part of RAMI 4.0 and defines the description of an asset in the digital
space. The two main areas of an AAS are the header and body. The header contains
the information required to identify the asset and the AAS. The unique identification is
ensured by a uniform resource identifier (URI). The body contains the submodels that
describe the functions and properties of the asset. The submodels can be added to the
AAS according to the requirements [9]. In addition to the structure, it is advisable to use
standardized data models as much as possible and to integrate these into the AAS and
to only create submodels in fields in which no standards yet exist. In particular, data
models that describe the operation are currently still rare. There is some work that uses
RAMI or AAS as the basis for the implementation of digital twins. This includes work that
concretizes the reference architecture and derives an architecture for digital twins. These
include the work of Beregi et al. [10] and Steindl et al. [11]. Beregi et al. [10] take up
the idea of AAS and define a production administration shell (PAS), which should allow
plants to communicate with a manufacturing execution system. The idea is to build a
modular and interoperable architecture in which resources can be integrated with little
effort. Based on the architecture axes, Steindl et al. [11] develop a concrete implementation
of an architecture for building a digital twin. Both works deal with specific aspects of RAMI
to realize concrete implementations without focusing on the complexity of an entire factory
or considering it over its entire life cycle. One work that takes a holistic view of the RAMI
architecture is the work of Roscher [12], which applies the RAMI architecture to the energy
information system application and develops its own reference architecture in the process.
The developed reference architecture is called RAMEnIS6.0, where the life cycle axis is
replaced by the energy production axis.
2.3. Digital Twin

Further publications and standards show a different understanding and descriptions
of the term digital twin [13–16]. Furthermore, other papers show different stages of im-
plementation or software by which a realization is possible. Concrete requirements for
the realization in the context of RAMI 4.0 are not given extensively. This paper attempts
to close this gap. On the one hand, Kritzinger et al. [17] show the division of definitions
or descriptions of a DT into different categories. Thereby, his study focuses especially on
integration levels and the areas within a production (e.g., product life cycle and production
planning), and various tools and technologies are addressed (e.g., OPC UA and cloud
computing), which are required for the use of DT.
Kritzinger et al. [17] also show in their study that most publications use the description
of a digital model (DM) or a digital shadow (DS), rather than providing a clear definition of a
DT (Table 1). This is based on their given understanding of the differences between the digital
23
Sci 2023, 5, 40
model, digital shadow, and digital twin, which is elaborated. This differentiation is referred
to as the degree of integration. The differences are defined as follows by Kritzinger et al. [17]
and is in the broadest sense also addressed by Stark and Damerau [7] and Grieves [18]:
A DM is a digital representation of an existing or planned physical object that does

not use any form of automated data exchange between the physical object and the
digital object. The digital representation might include a more or less comprehensive
description of the physical object. These models might include, but are not limited to
simulation models of planned factories, mathematical models, or any other models of a
physical object, which do not use any form of automatic data integration. Digital data
of existing physical systems might still be in use for the development of such models,
but all data exchange is done in a manual way. A change in state of the physical object
has no direct effect on the digital object and vice versa.
Table 1. Different levels of integration found by Kritzinger et al. [17] in research on the topic of digital
twin (source: [17]).
Concept Case-Study Review Definition

undefined 1.90% 4.76% 2.38% 0.00%
DM 14.29% 11.90% 0.00% 0.00%
DS 26.19% 7.14% 2.38% 0.00%
DT 2.38% 2.38% 9.52% 4.76%
Bearing this in mind, Kritzinger et al. [17] and Bauernhansl et al. [19] describe further-
more as follows:
DS based on the definition of a Digital Model, if there further exists an automated

one-way data flow between the state of an existing physical object and a digital object,
one might refer to such a combination as Digital Shadow. A change in state of the
physical object leads to a change of state in the digital object, but not vice versa.
Furthermore, Tao and Zhang [20] as well as Stark et al. [21] define the digital shadow
as an essential part of a DT as follows:
DS is a data profile that couples with the corresponding entity throughout its life cycle,
and carries all the data and knowledge to reflect the individual shape and historical,
current, and expected future status.
Based on this clarification, the concept of the three-dimensional DT is established. This

concept describes the physical entity, the virtual models, and the data exchange between
them as one dimension [18,20,22]. In extension, ref. [23] published the concept of a five-
dimensional digital twin (see Figure 3), where services and data are also included in the DT.
Colored in red are the parts of the three-dimensional concept, which contains the physical
entity (PE), virtual entity (VE), and the connection between them (CNPV ). By adding
software services (Ss) as well as considering digital twin data (DD) as further dimensions
and describing the connections (CNm,n ) between these four parts as a further dimension,
the five-dimensional concept of the DT is created. In addition, Zimmermann et al. [24]
explain the term digital master as the functional combination of digital twin data (DD)
and the virtual entity (VE). At this stage, it is clearly shown that there are many different
understandings of the meaning, what a DT is, and which requirements it should fulfill. A
literature review is therefore the basis for further discussions and to derive requirements
for our approach.
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Sci 2023, 5, 40
CNP,E Ss CNV,S
CNS,D
DD
CNP,D CNV,D
PE VE
CNP,V
Figure 3. Concept of the five-dimension Digital Twin (source: own illustration adapted from
ref. [7,16,23]).
2.4. Research Methodology

To show the need for clear requirements on a definition of a DT, which addresses the
complexity of a production system, we conduct a literature review. This review contains
a multi-step approach to find and classify relevant requirements and definitions. This
approach is based on the procedure used in Glock and Hochrein [25], Hersi et al. [26] and
Tawfik et al. [27]. The literature review includes the four superordinate steps:
1. Preparation
2. Planning
3. Screening
4. Classification
which are described in the following.
2.4.1. Step 1—Preparation

The need for a literature review is based on multiple facts. At first the large amount
of descriptions of what a DT should be. This takes into account not only understanding
but also naming. The terms Cyber Physical Twins [28] or Cyber Digital Twins also exist,
which describe the same technological approach. Therefore, we want to collect the key
requirements, that a DT must be fulfilled in the context of digital manufacturing. Second,
we want to show the combination of the RAMI 4.0 model with the use of a DT, therefore
we need a categorization, which is shown in step 4. This is needed to derivate necessary
key requirements of a DT in the frame of RAMI 4.0.
2.4.2. Step 2—Planning

For our research, we choose as relevant databases ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, Springer-
Link, and Web of Science to start a query. As boundaries of the querying only publications
since 2000 were considered. For our classification, on the one hand, we cluster the relevant
definitions into the topics, related to the RAMI 4.0 model, to product-related or process-
related and into the topics general definitions or industry sector definitions. Therefore, our
literature review focuses, but is not absolutely limited, on definitions from engineering
fields, that means manufacturing, aerospace, electrical engineering, and Industry 4.0.
The screening itself contains multiple steps:
1. Check for the right research field of an article.
2. Review the title.
3. Verify the abstract.
4. Check the full text to find descriptions or definitions of the term “digital twin”.
5. Check the references for additional sources.
An article was excluded from our study if the article did not fulfill one of these steps.
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Sci 2023, 5, 40
2.4.3. Step 3—Screening

The results of screening the databases are shown in Figure 4. At first, the relevance
of the topic of “digital twin”, exemplarily shown in Figure 4b for the query at Web of
Science, is proved. It is clearly shown that, in the last six years, research on the topic of
“digital twin” has risen significantly. Additionally, Figure 4a shows the distribution of
the top 12 engineering fields, where publications with the topic of DT were made. It was
found that most publications came from electrical and electronic engineering, followed by
manufacturing and computer science. If one of these studies satisfied all steps, this study
was considered for our classification.
Telecommunications 603
Computer Science
Theory Methods 611
Industrial
Engineering 668
Computer Science
Interdisciplinary Applications 693
Materials Science
Multidisciplinary 745
Automation
Control Systems 759
Computer Science
Information Systems 849
Manufacturing
Engineering 911
Electrical and Electronic

Engineering 1430
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Publications
(a)
3000
Number of Publications
2000
1000
0
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Year
Pubblications
(b)
Figure 4. Statistical screening results of the literature review with (a) results from research fields
and (b) the total number of publications per year (source: own illustration). (a) The amount of
publications in different research fields is shown in this plot. Thereby, most of the publications were
in the field of electrical and electronic followed by manufacturing engineering. (Web of Science 3
February 2023); (b) The figure shows the number of publications on the Web of Science database
from 2010 to 2022, with the query term “digital twin”. Clearly identifiable is the extreme rise of
publications within the topic of “digital twin” since 2019. [Web of Science 3 February 2023].
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Sci 2023, 5, 40
2.4.4. Step 4—Classification

Within our classification, we sort the found descriptions oriented at the different
lifecycle steps of the RAMI 4.0 model, production, or process-related descriptions of a DT.
Here, seven product-related definitions and four process-related definitions were found.
Additionally, 14 descriptions of the term DT in general were made, and 9 descriptions or
definitions from industry were found. In the next step, we mark the content of each classified
definition as a key element, in the sense that its high-level requirements or functionality is
summarized.
2.5. Definitions of Digital Twin

Nearly all found definitions or descriptions of the term “digital twin” explain communi-
cation between a real physical asset or entity and a virtual representation, e.g., [14,15,22,29].
Some of them, e.g., [7,17,30], describe more in detail, that this representation is a model
based on data which come from the physical asset. In addition, Garetti et al. [31], Kraft [32]
and Schleich et al. [33] argue that these models can also handle information from software
services. These services can handle different tasks, like prognoses, optimize or control the
physical asset [6,22]. For this collaboration between the physical asset, model, and services,
data are essentially those of [20,34],which can be measured from the physical asset or the
services [32] and from other external sources [35]. This data communication between the
data sources, physical asset, services, and models should be in real time [36,37] and use
the standardization of all components [29]. An overview of the classified descriptions and
definitions is given in Table 2.
Table 2. Table with the classified definitions of the term digital twin and the elements included in
each. Marked definitions (*) are not retrievable as full text (not open source) by the authors and come
from secondary sources (source: own illustration).
Topic Reference Definition Year Key Element

Product related Reifsnider and Ultra-high fidelity physical models of the materials and 2013 virtual model
definitions Majumdar [38] * structures that control the life of a vehicle.
Rios et al. [39] Product digital counterpart of a physical product. 2015 virtual model, real asset
Schroeder et al. [40] Virtual representation of a real product in the context of 2016 virtual model, real asset
cyber-physical systems.
A unified system model that can coordinate architecture,
Manas Bajaj mechanical, electrical, software, verification, and other services, hierarchical,
discipline-specific models across the system life cycle, 2016
et al. [41] * virtual models
federating models in multiple vendor tools and
configuration-controlled repositories.
A virtual twin is a model that integrates
interdisciplinary (mechanics, electronics, software, and
services) virtual product models and related real-time real asset, virtual
Abramovici et al. [30] data of a product instance (physical twin). A virtual 2017 models, data, services,
twin can be dynamically generated from a model and hierarchical, real time
data space to fulfill a specific task (e.g., dynamic
reconfiguration of a smart product during its use phase).
In synthesis, the vision of the digital twin describes the
vision of a bi-directional relation between a physical
artifact and the set of its virtual models. In this context,
the virtual “twinning”, i.e., the establishment of such real asset, connection,
Schleich et al. [33] 2017
relations between physical parts and their virtual virtual models, services
models, enables the efficient execution of product design,
manufacturing, servicing, and various other activities
throughout the product life cycle.
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Table 2. Cont.

A digital twin is a distributed and decentralized real asset, virtual
Grieves [18] approach to manage product information at product item 2015 model, connection,
level along its life cycle. modularization
Coupled model of the real machine that operates in the

Process-related cloud platform and simulates the health condition with hierarchical, real-time,
Lee et al. [35] an integrated knowledge from both data-driven 2013
definition real asset, virtual model
analytical algorithms and other available
physical knowledge.
Very realistic models of the process current state and its connection, real asset,
Rosen et al. [42] behavior in interaction with the environment in 2015
virtual models,
the real world.
The digital shadow first transfers the real production
Bauernhansl process into the virtual world. Based on this, the Digital real asset, virtual
2016
et al. [19] Twin can deliver an image of reality that is as identical model, services
as possible through a process model and simulation.
The DT consists of a virtual representation of a
production system that is able to run on different
simulation disciplines that is characterized by the
synchronization between the virtual and real system, virtual model, real
thanks to sensed data and connected smart devices, asset, services, real
Garetti et al. [31] 2012
mathematical models and real time data elaboration. The time, connection, data,
topical role within Industry 4.0 manufacturing systems hierarchical, scalability
is to exploit these features to forecast and optimize the
behavior of the production system at each lifecycle phase
in real time.
Virtual substitutes of real-world objects consisting of virtual model, real
General Schluse and virtual representations and communication capabilities 2016 asset, connection,
definitions Rossmann [43] making up smart objects acting as intelligent nodes services
inside the Internet of Things and services.
Canedo [44] * Digital representation of a real-world object with focus 2016 virtual model, real asset
on the object itself.
The simulation of the physical object itself to predict data, services, real
Gabor et al. [45] 2016
future states of the system. asset, virtual model
A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world

entity or system. The implementation of a digital twin is
an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a real asset, virtual
unique physical object, process, organization, person or model, modularization,
Gartner [34] 2022
other abstraction. Data from multiple digital twins can hierarchical, services,
be aggregated for a composite view across a number of data, scalability
real-world entities, such as a power plant or a city, and
their related processes.
An integrated multi-physics, multi-scale, probabilistic
simulation of an as-built system, enabled by digital services, data,
thread, which uses the best available models, sensor robustness, virtual
Kraft [32] 2016
information, and input data to mirror and predict model, hierarchical,
activities/performance over the life of its real asset
corresponding physical twin.
Real-time optimization using digital copies of real-time, real asset,
Söderberg et al. [46] 2017
physical systems. virtual model
The dynamic virtual representation of a physical object virtual model, real

Bolton et al. [47] or system throughout its life cycle, using real-time data 2018
asset, real time, data
to achieve understanding, learning, and reasoning.
28
Sci 2023, 5, 40
Table 2. Cont.

Digital twin uses physical data, virtual data and real asset, virtual
Tao et al. [23] interactive data between them to map all components in 2019
model, data, connection
the product life cycle.
A digital twin is a digital representation of an active
unique product (real device, object, machine, service, or
intangible asset) or unique product-service system (a real asset, virtual
Stark and system consisting of a product and a related service) that model, services, data,
2019
Damerau [7] comprises its selected characteristics, properties, hierarchical,
conditions, and behaviors by means of models, modularization
information, and data within a single or even across
multiple life cycle phases.
A digital twin is defined as a virtual representation of a virtual model, real
physical asset enabled through data and simulators for asset, services,
Rasheed et al. [22] 2020
real-time prediction, optimization, monitoring, real-time, hierarchical,
controlling, and improved decision making. data, connection
Industrial Digital Digital representation, sufficient to meet the virtual model,
2022
Association e. V. [48] requirements of a set of use cases. hierarchical,
Digital model of one or more real-world entities, virtual model,

Claude Baudoin digital twin entities can be objects or processes, modularization,
2022
et al. [49] that is synchronized with those entities at a specified connection, robustness,
frequency and fidelity. real asset
A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world real asset, virtual

Digital Twin
entities and processes, synchronized at a specified 2022 model, connection,
Consortium [37]
frequency and fidelity. robustness
If the data flows between an existing physical object and

a digital object are further fully integrated in both
directions, one might refer to it as a digital twin. In such data, real asset, virtual
a combination, the digital object might also act as model, connection,
Kritzinger et al. [17] controlling instance of the physical object. There might 2018 hierarchical,
also be other objects, physical or digital, which induce modularization, real
changes of state in the digital object. A change in state of time, services
the physical object directly leads to a change in state of
the digital object and vice versa.
An integrated multi-physics, multi-scale, probabilistic
simulation of a vehicle or system that uses the best hierarchical, services,
Industry-Sector available physical models, sensor updates, fleet history, virtual model,
Shafto et al. [50] 2010
definitions etc., to mirror the life of its flying twin. The digital twin modularization,
is ultra-realistic and may consider one or more scalability,
important and interdependent vehicle systems.
A cradle-to-grave model of an aircraft structure’s ability modularization,
Tuegel [51] * to meet mission requirements, including submodels of 2012 hierarchical, virtual
the electronics, the flight controls, the propulsion system, model
and other subsystems.
Ultra-realistic, cradle-to-grave computer model of an virtual model,
Gockel et al. [52] aircraft structure that is used to assess the aircraft’s 2012
hierarchical, scalability
ability to meet mission requirements.
Ultra-realistic multi-physical computational models virtual model, real
Bielefeldt et al. [53] associated with each unique aircraft and combined with 2016
asset, data
known flight histories.
High-fidelity structural model that incorporates fatigue real time, virtual model,
Bazilevs et al. [54] damage and presents a fairly complete digital 2015
robustness
counterpart of the actual structural system of interest.
29
Sci 2023, 5, 40
Table 2. Cont.

Digital twin is digital copies of biological or
non-biological physical entities. By bridging the physical virtual model, real
El Saddik [36] and virtual worlds, data are seamlessly transferred, 2018 asset, connection real
allowing virtual entities to exist simultaneously with time
physical entities.
Digital twins are digital representations based on
semantic data models that allow running simulations in
different disciplines, that support not only a prognostic virtual model,
assessment at the design stage (static perspective) but standardization, data,
Negri et al. [29] also a continuous update of the virtual representation of 2017 services, hierarchical,
the object by a real-time synchronization with sensed real time, services,
data. This allows the representation to reflect the current connection, real asset
status of the system and to perform real-time
optimizations, decision making and predictive
maintenance according to the sensed conditions.
Digital replica of physical assets (physical twin),
processes and systems that can be used for various virtual model, real
ISO 23704-1:2022 [15] purposes or a fit-for-purpose digital representation of 2022 asset, connection, data,
something outside its own context with data connections standardization
that enable convergence between the physical and virtual
states at an appropriate rate of synchronization.
Fit for purpose digital representation of an observable virtual model, real
ISO 23247-1:2021 [14] manufacturing element with synchronization between 2021 asset, connection,
the element and its digital representation. standardization
3. Research Gap
Consideration of the multitude of definitions has shown that there is no uniform
understanding and requirements for the term “digital twin”. The understanding varies
across different areas, but even within the areas, there is often a divergence. Just in the
area of manufacturing, a multitude of definitions can be found. Furthermore, there are
already more concrete concepts, such as RAMI 4.0. However, RAMI 4.0 provides a reference
architecture and with the AAS, a data format. The AAS is therefore not yet a digital twin,
as is sometimes simplified. According to the five-dimensional model, for example, the
simulation ability is not given in the AAS. The AAS can be more seen as a DS according
to the definition by Tao and Zhang [20] and Stark et al. [21] to describe a certain asset.
A concept therefore needs to derive how a factory with multiple assets can be modeled.
Overall, there is a lack of a concept that links RAMI 4.0, AAS, and the understanding of
a digital twin. To establish this connection, the first step is to define what a digital twin
is before it can be placed in the context of the RAMI 4.0 standard. The goal should be to
find an understanding that is as universally valid as possible and that is consistent with the
existing and evaluated digitization concepts. The focus of the objective of the digital twin
should not itself restrict the application of the definition. In concrete terms, this means that
whatever the target value of optimization within manufacturing, the definition should be
adaptable accordingly. In the consideration of the found definitions, some commonalities
have become apparent, which are to be highlighted as a basis. Accordingly, based on the
definitions given in Table 2, elements of a digital twin in the production area should be the
following elements given in Table 3. In addition, a DT consisting of the above elements
should have the following capabilities:
• Possibility to automatically control the real asset, also with results from the services.
• Possibility for real-time automatic data acquisition and control.
Furthermore, these eight general conditions, summarized by [20] and also described
partly by other authors, should be fulfilled to achieve long-term and sustainable benefits
through the use of a DT:
30
Sci 2023, 5, 40
1. Data and knowledge-based (compare Table 3): the most up-to-date data and rules
available should always be used in the modeling and in the use phase.
2. Modularization [6,7,17,18,20,34,49,51]: a DT should provide reusability, flexibility and
interoperability for a system-of-systems approach.
3. Light weight [17,22,29–31,35,36,46,47,54]: models with maximally low complexity
and thus with low computing time to enable the real-time capability of the DT.
4. Hierarchy [6,7,17,22,29–32,34,35,41,51,52]: a DT should use different hierarchical lay-
ers for the efficient use of different tasks.
5. Standardization [14,15,29]: to guarantee that all components of a DT communicate
efficiently and securely with each other.
6. Servitization [6,7,17,19,22,29–34,41,43,45]: use of standard services for easy and con-
venient usage of the DT.
7. Openness and scalability [6,31,34,52]: open to interoperate with various resources and
scalable, which enables functional extension.
8. Robustness [32,37,49,54]: a DT should be built with good robustness to deal with
unpredictable changes.
Based on this list of requirements, an understanding of which elements and capabili-
ties are needed is found. The elements and capabilities are to be concretized in a RAMI-
compliant concept to be able to guarantee its implementability in industry. Furthermore,
the existing definitions are to be taken into account, and thus a consistency is to be achieved.
Table 3. Elements of a DT which are derived from the different definitions in Table 2 (source: own
illustration).
DT Element Based on Reference

real physical asset/entity [7,14,15,17–20,22,29–37,39,40,42–47,49,53]
virtual model/entity that describes the real asset (physical, math, 3D models, etc.)
all references given in Table 2
and is capable of predicting the behavior of the real asset
data which describe the real physical asset (contains data harvested from the real
[7,15,17,22,23,29–32,34,45,47,53]
asset and from services)
services (e.g., monitoring, simulations, prognosis, optimization, and control) [6,7,17,19,22,29–34,41,43,45]
full connection between the elements (physical asset, virtual model, data and
[14,15,17,18,20,22,29,31,33,36,37,42,43,49]
services) for data exchange
4. Conceptual Approach
The conceptual approach is based on the AAS and the result of the overview of the
DT definitions. The AAS is used to include the factory assets and to realize bidirectional
communication between assets and the factory control level, where the DT is located. The
simulation ability on the factory level is realized by a factory model and corresponding
services to fulfill these tasks. The factory model uses the information which is supplied by
the AAS. The concept displayed in Figure 5 is based on the product-oriented approach to
describe the life cycle of digital twins [7] and the RAMI reference architecture [8]. Unlike the
DT of a product, a factory is a complex structure of many interrelated individual resources.
Each resource, in turn, has its own life cycle. In this case, resources refer to assets that
contribute directly or indirectly to the manufacture of the product and are thus modeled
in a DT. These can be, for example, production facilities, such as a machine tool from the
illustration, or a technical building equipment facility. Each resource has a representation
that already includes information from the previous life cycles of this resource, which has
been expanded accordingly for individual use in the factory. Furthermore, products and
thus digital representations are created or extended anew in the factory. The products
to be manufactured in the factory are also represented digitally. In this way, information
can be documented in the creation phase, for example, process parameters related to the
specific instance. The distinction between products and resources is made only because
31
Sci 2023, 5, 40
they are at different life cycle stages. Products are currently being produced, whereas the
machines for them are in their usage phase. However, it follows the same idea that all
relevant assets are represented digitally. This fact of the factory is taken into account in the
following concept by choosing a modular approach in which each resource and product has
an AAS. These individual representations provide the DT with asset-specific information.
This information is then available in a distributed form and can be maintained by those
responsible for the assets. This also allows individual factory components to be replaced at
any time without the need for major changes to the factory model. Starting from the life
cycle of the production system, which begins with engineering, the parallel development
of the DT of the factory also begins. Once the resources have been selected, the digital
representations, in this case, the AAS of the corresponding assets, can provide information
about these resources. Ideally, the AAS is already set up by the machine supplier and is
part of the machine delivery, and will be complemented if changes arise. In the factory,
this AAS is integrated into the process and manages the machine in the factory system,
including the documentation of the operation by storing process data. The product to be
manufactured also receives a corresponding AAS in production, which can already contain
relevant information in product creation and is now expanded by the process information
in production and will then be delivered as part of the product. The AAS thus forms the
interface to the physical world. This is performed, on the one hand, by the basic digitally
stored description of the physical asset, which records the current state of an asset in each
case with the help of sensor values. On the other hand, the AAS also offers the possibility to
communicate with the physical elements of the digital world and to influence their state by
control commands. Therefore, the concept can be seen as an enabler for the digital factory.
Figure 5. Lifecycle model for modular digital twins, where asset-specific information is modeled in
asset administration shells (AASs), and asset interaction is modeled in a factory model (source: own
illustration based on Ref. [7]).
The factory model, which turns the concept of a digital factory into a digital twin con-
cept, is composed of individual models. Modeling effort is required here, but the information
from the individual resources can already be accessed so that only the interrelationships
32
Sci 2023, 5, 40
need to be entered. Creating individual digital representations for each asset is much easier
to handle in terms of complexity than for an entire factory system. The advantage is also
that the manufacturers of the assets can already represent the basic data and behavior of the
resource itself, and the operator can simply extend this with the data relevant to them.
As described, the concept is based on the derived considerations, elements, and
conditions given in Section 3 and also by Stark and Damerau [7], who consider the DT in
its life phase, as well as the considerations that are in the RAMI 4.0 reference architecture.
Although the latter is intended for the concrete implementation of industrial applications, it
is ultimately only a reference architecture. The concept is therefore to be concretized on the
basis of the requirements given in Section 3 and checked for its ability to be implemented.
To fulfill the derived requirements and conditions of a DT given in Section 3, our concept
has the following characteristics:
1. Data and knowledge-based: The AAS provides current information about the re-
sources in each case through an active connection to the physical resource.Due to the
system’s modular structure, the individual components can be kept up to date with
little effort because the management of the resources lies with the respective experts
and does not have to be carried out by a simulation expert.
2. Modularization: AAS provides modularization for individual resources. In the case
of the replacement of resources, adaptation of the model is easily possible. Only the
relationships of the resources to each other must be maintained in a factory model.
3. Light weight: The real-time capability depends on the technologies used but is not
prevented by the concept.
4. Hierarchy: AAS offers the possibility to build a hierarchy. In the present concept,
the product, the production facilities, and the factory model can already be called
hierarchy levels. However, any units, e.g., production areas, can also be formed.
5. Standardization: The concept is based on DIN SPEC 91345 [8], which also includes the
AAS. The AAS can be seen as a regulation that can work with standardized information
models, etc. In addition, there are currently further standardization efforts in this area.
It is crucial that modelers adhere to the existing standards.
6. Servitization: The use of standard services is highly dependent on the implementation
of the factory model and the technologies used. The AASs on the resource level
enable the standard protocols during communication and are therefore an enabler of
a service-oriented architecture.
7. Openness and scalability: Modularization at the resource level enables easy extensibil-
ity of the model. Only the integration into the factory model depends on the concrete
implementation and determines the effort required to integrate additional resources.
The AAS is operated as an open-source project, so the work can be accessed here.
8. Robustness: This aspect must be considered, especially during implementation.
5. Conclusions
This paper first shows the need for a unified understanding of the requirements for
the meaning of the term digital twin. This represents a central tool in the context of digital
production. We show that there is no uniform definition or description of this term within
the research community. This leads to the fact that the requirements which are derived
from it are not clearly formulated. This gap is closed by the authors in this paper. Through
a literature research, different definitions and descriptions of the term digital twin are
classified and compared. From this, common properties are identified, which represent
the essential requirements. Finally, an approach embedded in the RAMI 4.0 model is used
to demonstrate how these derived requirements can be implemented. This enables the
sustainable and scalable use of a DT in the context of digital production. The digitized
production is an essential component and central element for future production to produce
sustainably, flexibly, and efficiently. For example, further research must show how efficient
modeling is possible for specific submodels, e.g., efficiency and flexibility models for
production. In doing so, care must be taken to ensure that the requirements presented are
33
Sci 2023, 5, 40
met. The work dealt specifically with the life cycle and the higher-level architecture. RAMI
was placed at the center of the consideration, and the agreement of an understanding for the
digital twin and RAMI was considered. A comparison with other reference architectures,
such as the industrial internet reference architecture (IIRA) or smart grid architecture model
(SGAM), was left out. In the next step, however, it is appropriate to go deeper into the
analysis and look more closely at the individual components of the architecture.
Author Contributions: M.L.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Writing—

Original Draft; L.B.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Original Draft; J.S.: Supervision,
Funding acquisition, Writing—Review Editing; M.W.: Supervision, funding acquisition, writing—
Review Editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Kopernikus-Projekt “Syn-
Ergie” (grant number 03SFK3A0-3) by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany
(BMBF) and the project supervision by the project management organization Projektträger Jülich (PtJ).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Kopernikus-
Projekt “SynErgie” (the grant number 03SFK3A0-3) by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
of Germany (BMBF) and the project supervision by the project management organization Projektträger
Jülich (PtJ).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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34
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with the fair Lady Jean seated comfortably on a pillion behind him. It
was a fine morning in autumn, and the road had a peculiarly gay
appearance from the multitude of country-people, mounted and
dismounted, who seemed also hastening towards the capital. Master
Richard, upon inquiry, discovered that it was the market-day, a
circumstance which seemed favourable to his design, by the
additional assurance it gave him of not being recognised among the
extraordinary number of strangers who might be expected to crowd
the city on such an occasion. The lovers approached the city by the
west, and the first street they entered was the suburban one called
Portsburgh, which leads towards the great market-place of
Edinburgh. Here Richard, impatient as he was, found himself
obliged, like many other rustic cavaliers, to reduce the pace of his
horse to a walk, on account of the narrowness and crowded state of
the street. This he felt the more disagreeable, as it subjected him
and his interesting companion to the close and leisurely scrutiny of
the inhabitants. Both had endeavoured to disguise every thing
remarkable in their appearance, so far as dress and demeanour
could be disguised; yet, as Lady Jean could not conceal her
extraordinary beauty, and Richard had not found it possible to part
with a slight and dearly-beloved moustache, it naturally followed that
they were honoured with a good deal of staring. Many an urchin
upon the street threw up his arms as they passed along, exclaiming
“Oh! the black-bearded man!” or, “Oh! the bonnie leddie!”—the men
all admired Lady Jean, the women Master Richard—and many an
old shoemaker ogled them earnestly over his half-door, with his
spectacles pushed up above his dingy cowl. The lovers, who had
thus to run a sort of gauntlet of admiration and remark, were glad
when they reached an inn, which Richard, who was slightly
acquainted with the town, knew to be a proper place for the
performance of a half-merk marriage. They alighted, and were civilly
received by an obsequious landlady, who conducted them into an
apartment at the back of the house. There Lady Jean was for a short
time left to make some arrangements about her dress, while Richard
disclosed to the landlady in another room the purpose upon which he
was come to her house, and consulted her about procuring a
clergyman. The dame of the house, to whom a clandestine marriage
was the merest matter of course, showed the utmost willingness to
facilitate the design of her guests, and said that she believed a
clerical official might be procured in a few minutes, provided that
neither had any scruples of conscience, as “most part of fouk frae
the west had,” in accepting the services of an Episcopal clergyman.
The lover assured her that, so far from having any objection to “a
government minister,” for so they were sometimes termed, he would
prefer such to any other, as both he and his bride belonged to that
persuasion. The landlady heard this declaration with complacency,
which showed that she loved her guests the better for it; and told
Richard that, if he pleased, she would immediately introduce to him
the Dean of St Giles, who, honest man, was just now taking his
meridian in the little back garret parlour, along with his friend and
gossip, Bowed Andrew, the waiter of the West Port. To this Richard
joyfully assented, and speedily he and Lady Jean were joined in their
room by the said dean, a squat little gentleman, with a drunken but
important-looking face, and an air of consequentiality even in his
stagger, that was partly imposing and partly ridiculous. He addressed
his clients with a patronising simper, of which the effect was
grievously disconcerted by an unlucky hiccup, and in a speech which
might have had the intended tone of paternal and reverend authority,
had it not been smattered and degraded into shreds by the
crapulous insufficiency of his tongue. Richard cut short his ill-
sustained attempts at dignity, by requesting him to partake of some
liquor. His reverence almost leaped at the proffered jug, which
contained ale. He first took a tasting, then a sip—shaking his head
between—next a small draught, with a still more convulsion-like
shake of the head; and lastly, he took a hearty and persevering swill,
from the effects of which his lungs did not recover for at least twenty
respirations. The impatient lover then begged him to proceed with
the ceremony, which he forthwith commenced in presence of the
landlady and the above-mentioned Bowed Andrew; and in a few
minutes, Richard and Lady Jean were united in the holy bands of
matrimony.
When the ceremony was concluded, and both the clergyman and
the witnesses had been satisfied and dismissed, the lovers left the
house, with the design of walking forwards into the city. In conformity
to a previous arrangement, Lady Jean walked first, like a lady of
quality, and Richard followed closely behind, with the dress and
deportment of her servant. Her ladyship was dressed in her finest
suit, and adorned with her finest jewels, all which she had brought
from Cumbernauld on purpose, in a mail or leathern trunk—for such
was the name then given to the convenience now entitled a
portmanteau. Her step was light, and her bearing gay, as she moved
along—not on account of the success which had attended her
expedition, or her satisfaction in being now united to the man of her
choice, but because she anticipated the highest pleasure in the sight
of a place whereof she had heard such wonderful stories, and from a
participation in whose delights she had been so long withheld. Like
all persons educated in the country, she had been regaled in her
infancy with magnificent descriptions of the capital—of its buildings,
that seemed to mingle with the clouds—its shops, which apparently
contained more wealth than all the world beside—of its paved streets
(for paved streets were then wonders in Scotland)—and, above all,
of the grand folks who thronged its Highgates, its Canongates, and
its Cowgates—people whose lives seemed a perpetual holiday,
whose attire was ever new, and who all lived in their several palaces.
Though, of course, Edinburgh had then little to boast of, the country
people who occasionally visited it did not regard it with less
admiration than that with which the peasantry of our own day may be
supposed to view it now that it is something so very different. It was
then, as well as now, the capital of the country, and, as such, bore
the same disproportion in point of magnificence to inferior towns, and
to the country in general. In one respect, it was superior to what it is
at the present day—namely, in being the seat of government and of
a court. Lady Jean had often heard all its glorious peculiarities
described by her sisters, who, moreover, sometimes took occasion
to colour the picture too highly, in order to raise her envy, and make
themselves appear great in their alliance and association with so
much greatness. She was, therefore, prepared to see a scene of the
utmost splendour—a scene in which nothing horrible or paltry
mingled, but which was altogether calculated to awe or to delight the
senses.
Her ladyship was destined to be disappointed at the
commencement, at least, of her acquaintance with the city. The first
remarkable object which struck her eye, after leaving the inn, was
the high bow, or arch, of the gate called the West Port. In this itself
there was nothing worthy of particular attention, and she rather
directed her eyes through the opening beneath, which half disclosed
a wide space beyond, apparently crowded with people. But when
she came close up to the gate, and cast, before passing, a last
glance at the arch, she shuddered at the sight then presented to her
eyes. On the very pinnacle of the arch were stuck the ghastly and
weatherworn remains of a human head, the features of which, half
flesh half bone, were shaded, and rendered still more indistinctly
horrible by the long dark hair, which hung in meagre tresses around
them. “Oh, Richard, Richard!” she exclaimed, stopping, and turning
round, “what is that dreadful looking thing?” “That, madam,” said
Richard, without any emotion, “is the broken remnant of a west
country preacher, spiked up there to warn his countrymen who may
approach this port, against doing any thing to incur the fate which
has overtaken himself. Methinks he has preached to small purpose,
for yonder stands the gallows, ready, I suppose, to bring him some
brother in affliction.” “Horrible!” exclaimed Lady Jean; “and is this
really the fine town of Edinburgh, where I was taught to expect so
many grand sights? I thought it was just one universal palace, and it
turns out to be a great charnel-house!” “It is indeed more like that
than any thing else at times,” said Richard; “but, my dear Lady Jean,
you are not going to start at this bugbear, which the very children,
you see, do not heed in passing.” “Indeed I think, Richard,”
answered her ladyship, “if Edinburgh is to be all like this, it would be
just as good to turn back at once, and postpone our visit till better
times.” “But it is not all like this,” replied Richard; “I assure you it is
not. For heaven’s sake, my lady, move on. The people are beginning
to stare at us. You shall soon see grand sights enough, if we were
once fairly out of this place. Make for the opposite corner of the
Grassmarket, and ascend the street to the left of that horrible gibbet.
We may yet get past it before the criminals are produced.”
Thus admonished, Lady Jean passed, not without a shudder,
under the dreadful arch, and entered the spacious oblong square
called the Grassmarket. This place was crowded at the west end
with rustics engaged in all the bustle of a grain and cattle market,
and at the eastern and most distant extremity with a mob of idlers
who had gathered around the gibbet, in order to witness the awful
ceremony that was about to take place. The crowd, which was
scarcely so dense as that which attends the rarer scene of a modern
execution, made way on both sides for Lady Jean as she moved
along; and wherever she went, she left behind her a wake, as it
were, of admiration and confusion. So exquisite and so new a
beauty, so splendid a suit of female attire, and such a stout and
handsome attendant—these were all alike calculated to inspire
reverence in the minds of the beholders. Her carriage at the same
time was so steady and so graceful, that no one could be so rude as
to interrupt or disturb it. The people, therefore, parted when she
approached, and left a free passage for her on all sides, as if she
had been an angel or a spirit come to walk amidst a mortal crowd,
and whose person could not be touched, and might scarcely be
beheld—whose motions were not to be interfered with by those
among whom she chose to walk—but who was to be received with
prostration of spirit, and permitted to depart as she had come,
unquestioned and unapproached. In traversing the Grassmarket, two
or three young coxcombs, with voluminous wigs, short cloaks,
rapiers, and rose-knots at their knees and shoes, who, on observing
her at a distance, had prepared to treat her with a condescending
stare, fell back, awed and confounded, at her near approach, and
spent the gaze, perhaps, upon the humbler mark of her follower, or
upon vacancy.
Having at length passed the gibbet, Lady Jean began to ascend
the steep and tortuous street denominated the West Bow. She had
hitherto been unable to direct any attention to what she was most
anxious to behold—the scenic wonders of the capital. But having
now got clear of the crowd, and no longer fearing to see the gallows,
she ventured to lift up her eyes and look around. The tallness and
massiveness of the buildings, some of which bore the cross of the
Knights Templars on their pinnacles, while others seemed to be
surmounted or overtopped by still taller edifices beyond, impressed
her imagination; and the effect was rendered still more striking by the
countless human figures which crowded the windows, and even the
roofs of the houses, all alike bending their attention, as she thought,
towards herself. The scene before her looked like an amphitheatre
filled with spectators, while she and Richard seemed as the objects
upon the arena. The thought caused her to hurry on, and she soon
found herself in a great measure screened from observation by the
overhanging projections of the narrower part of the West Bow, which
she now entered. With slow and difficult, but stately and graceful
steps, she then proceeded, till she reached the upper angle of the
street, where a novel and unexpected scene awaited her. A sound
like that of rushing waters seemed first to proceed from the part of
the street still concealed from her view, and presently appeared
round the angle the first rank of an impetuous crowd, who, rushing
downward with prodigious force, would certainly have overwhelmed
her delicate form, had she not dexterously avoided them, by
stepping aside upon a projecting stair, to which Richard also sprung,
just in time to save himself from a similar fate. From this place of
safety, which was not without its own crowd of children, women, and
sage-looking elderly mechanics, with Kilmarnock cowls, both in the
next moment saw the massive mob rush past, like the first wave of a
flood, bearing either along or down every thing that came in their
way. Immediately after, but at a more deliberate pace, followed a
procession of figures, which struck the heart of Lady Jean with as
heavy a sense of sorrow as the crowd had just impressed with terror
and surprise. First came a small company of the veterans of the city-
guard, some of whom had perhaps figured in the campaigns of
Middleton and Montrose, and whose bronzed inflexible faces bore on
this melancholy occasion precisely the same expression which they
ordinarily exhibited on the joyful one of attending the magistrates at
the drinking of the king’s health on the 29th of May. Behind these,
and encircled by some other soldiers of the same band, appeared
two figures of a different sort. One of them was a young-looking, but
pale and woe-worn man, the impressive wretchedness of whose
appearance was strikingly increased by the ghastly dress which he
wore. He was attired from head to foot in a white shroud, such as
was sometimes worn in Scotland by criminals at the gallows, but
which was, in the present instance, partly assumed as a badge of
innocence. The excessive whiteness and emaciation of his
countenance suited well with this dismal apparel, and, with the wild
enthusiasm that kindled in his eyes, gave an almost supernatural
effect to the whole scene, which rather resembled a pageant of the
dead than a procession of earthly men. He was the only criminal; the
person who walked by his side, and occasionally supported his
steps, being—as the crowd whispered around, with many a varied
expression of sympathy—his father. The old man had the air of a
devout Presbyterian, with harsh, intelligent features, and a dress
which bespoke his being a countryman of the lower rank. According
to the report of the bystanders, he had educated this his only son for
the unfortunate Church of Scotland, and now attended him to the
fate which his talents and violent temperament had conspired to
draw down upon his head. If he ever felt any pride in the popular
admiration with which his son was honoured, no traces of such a
sentiment now appeared. On the contrary, he seemed humbled to
the very earth with sorrow; and though he had perhaps contemplated
the issue now about to take place, with no small portion of
satisfaction, so long as it was at a distance and uncertain, the
feelings of a father had evidently proved too much for his fortitude
when the event approached in all its dreadful reality. The emotions
perceptible in that rough and rigid countenance were the more
striking, as being so much at variance with its natural and
characteristic expression; and the tear which gathered in his eye
excited the greater commiseration, in so far as it seemed a stranger
there. But the hero and heroine of our tale had little time to make
observations on this piteous scene, for the train passed quickly on,
and was soon beyond their sight. When it was gone, the people of
the Bow, who seemed accustomed to such sights, uttered various
expressions of pity, indignation, and horror, according to their
respective feelings, and then slowly retired to their dens in the stairs
and booths which lined the whole of this ancient and singular street.
Lady Jean, whose beautiful eyes were suffused with tears at
beholding so melancholy a spectacle, was then admonished by her
attendant to proceed. With a heart hardened to all sensations of
wonder and delight, she moved forward, and was soon ushered into
the place called the Lawnmarket, then perhaps the most fashionable
district in Edinburgh, but the grandeur and spaciousness of which
she beheld almost without admiration. The scene here was however
much gayer, and approached more nearly to her splendid
preconceptions of the capital than any she had yet seen. The shops
were, in her estimation, very fine, and some of the people on the
street were of that noble description of which she had believed all
inhabitants of cities to be. There was no crowd on the street, which,
therefore, afforded room for a better display of her stately and
beautiful person; and as she walked steadily onwards, still ushed (for
such was then the phrase) by her handsome and noble-looking
attendant, a greater degree of admiration was excited amongst the
gay idlers whom she passed, than even that which marked her
progress through the humbler crowd of the Grassmarket. Various
noblemen, in passing towards their homes in the Castle Hill, lifted
their feathered hats and bowed profoundly to the lovely vision; and
one or two magnificent dames, sweeping along with their long silk
trains, borne up by livery-men, stared at or eyed askance the charms
which threw their own so completely into shade. By the time Lady
Jean arrived at the bottom of the Lawnmarket, that is to say, where it
was partially closed up by the Tolbooth, she had in a great measure
recovered her spirits, and found herself prepared to enjoy the sight
of the public buildings, which were so thickly clustered together at
this central part of the city. She was directed by Richard to pass
along the narrow road which then led between the houses and the
Tolbooth on the south, and which, being continued by a still narrower
passage skirting the west end of St Giles’s church, formed the
western approach to the Parliament Close. Obeying his guidance in
this tortuous passage, she soon found herself at the opening or the
square space, so styled on account of its being closed on more than
one side by the meeting-place of the legislative assembly of
Scotland. Here a splendid scene awaited her. The whole square was
filled with the members of the Scottish Parliament, barons and
commons, who had just left the house in which they sat together—
with ladies, who on days of unusual ceremony were allowed to
attend the house—and with horses richly caparisoned, and covered
with gold-embroidered foot-cloths, some of which were mounted by
their owners, while others were held in readiness by footmen. All
was bustle and magnificence. Noblemen and gentlemen in splendid
attire threaded the crowd in search of their horses; ladies tripped
after them with timid and careful steps, endeavouring, by all in their
power, to avoid contact with such objects as were calculated to injure
their fineries; grooms strode heavily about, and more nimble
lacqueys jumped every where, here and there, some of them as
drunk as the Parliament Close claret could make them, but all intent
on doing the duties of attendance and respect to their masters.
Some smart and well-dressed young gentlemen were arranging their
cloaks and swords, and preparing to leave the square on foot by the
passage which had given entry to Master Richard and Lady Jean.
At sight of our heroine, most of these gallants stood still in
admiration, and one of them, with the trained assurance of a rake,
observing her to be beautiful, a stranger, and not too well protected,
accosted her in a strain of language which caused her at once to
blush and tremble. Richard’s brow reddened with anger, as he
hesitated not a moment in stepping up and telling the offender to
leave the lady alone, on pain of certain consequences which might
not prove agreeable. “And who are you, my brave fellow?” said the
youth, with bold assurance. “Sirrah!” exclaimed Richard, so indignant
as to forget himself, “I am that lady’s husband—her servant, I mean;”
and here he stopped short in some confusion. “Admirable!”
exclaimed the other. “Ha! ha! ha! ha! Here, Sirs, is a lady lacquey,
who does not know whether he is his mistress’s servant or her
husband. Let us give him up to the town-guard to see whether the
black-hole will make him remember the real state of the case.” So
saying, he attempted to push Richard aside, and take hold of the
lady. But he had not time to touch her garments with so much as a
finger, before her protector had a rapier flourishing in his eyes, and
threatened him with instant death, unless he desisted from his
profane purpose. At sight of the bright steel, he stepped back one or
two paces, drew his own sword, and was preparing to fight, when
one of his more grave associates called out, “For shame, Rollo!—
with a lady’s lacquey, too, and in the presence of the duke and
duchess! I see their royal highnesses, already alarmed, are inquiring
the cause of the disturbance.” It was even as this gentleman said,
and presently came up to the scene of contention some of the most
distinguished personages in the crowd, one of whom demanded
from the parties an explanation of so disgraceful an occurrence.
“Why, here is a fellow, my lord,” answered Rollo, “who says he is the
husband of a lady whom he attends as a livery-man, and a lady, too,
the bonniest, I dare say, that has been seen in Scotland since the
days of Queen Magdalen!” “And what matters it to you,” said the
inquirer, who seemed to be a Judge of the Session, “in what relation
this man stands to his lady? Let the parties both come forward, and
tell their ain tale. May it please your royal highness,” he continued,
addressing a very grave dignitary who sat on horseback behind him,
as stiff and formal as a sign-post, “to hear the declaratur of thir twa
strange incomers. But see—see—what is the matter with Lord
Wigton?” he added, pointing to an aged personage on horseback,
who had just pushed forward, and seemed about to faint, and fall
from his horse. The person alluded to, at sight of his daughter in this
unexpected place, was in reality confounded, and it was some time
before he mastered voice enough to ejaculate, “O, Jean, Jean!
what’s this ye’ve been about? or what has brocht you to Edinburgh?”
“And Lord have a care o’ us!” exclaimed at this juncture another
venerable peer, who had just come up, “what has brocht my sonsie
son, Ritchie Livingstone, to Edinburgh, when he should have been
fechtin’ the Dutch by this time in Pennsylvania?” The two lovers, thus
recognised by their respective parents, stood with downcast looks,
and perfectly silent, while all was buzz and confusion in the brilliant
circle around them; for the parties concerned were not more
surprised at the aspect of their affairs, than were all the rest at the
beauty of the far-famed but hitherto unseen Lady Jean Fleming. The
Earl of Linlithgow, Richard’s father, was the first to speak aloud, after
the general astonishment had for some time subsided; and this he
did in a laconic though important query, which he couched in the
simple words, “Are you married, bairns?” “Yes, dearest father,” said
his son, gathering courage, and coming close up to his saddle-bow;
“and I beseech you to extricate Lady Jean and me from this crowd,
and I shall tell you all when we are alone.” “A pretty man ye are,
truly,” said the old man, who never took any thing very seriously to
heart, “to be staying at hame, and getting yourself married, all the
time you should have been abroad, winning honour and wealth, as
your gallant grand-uncle did wi’ Gustavus i’ the thretties! Hooever,
since better mayna be, I maun try and console my Lord Wigton, who,
I doot, has the worst o’ the bargain, ye ne’er-do-weel!” He then went
up to Lady Jean’s father, shook him by the hand, and said, “that
though they had been made relations against their wills, he hoped
they would continue good friends. The young people,” he observed,
“are no that ill matched; and it is not the first time that the Flemings
and the Livingstones have melled together, as witness the blithe
marriage of the Queen’s Marie to Lord Fleming, in the feifteen saxty-
five. At any rate, my lord, let us put a good face on the matter, afore
they glowering gentles and whipper-snapper duchesses. I’ll get
horses for the two, and they’ll join the ridin’ down the street; and deil
hae me if Lady Jean disna outshine them, the hale o’ them!” “My
Lord Linlithgow,” responded the graver and more implacable Earl of
Wigton, “it may set you to take this matter blithely; but, let me tell
you, it’s a muckle mair serious affair for me. What think ye am I to do
wi’ Kate and Grizzy noo?” “Hoot, toot, my lord,” said Linlithgow, with
a sly smile, “their chance is as gude as ever it was, I assure you, and
sae will every body think that kens them. I maun ca’ horses though,
or the young folk will be ridden ower, afore ever they do mair gude,
by thae rampaugin’ young men.” So saying, and taking Lord
Wigton’s moody silence for assent, he proceeded to cry to his
servants for the best pair of horses they could get; and these being
speedily procured, Lord Richard and his bride were requested to
mount; after which, they were formally introduced to the gracious
notice of the Duke and Duchess of York, and the Princess Anne,
who happened to attend Parliament on this the last day of its
session, when it was customary for all the members to ride both to
and from the house in an orderly cavalcade. The order was now
given to proceed, and the lovers were soon relieved, in a great
measure, from the embarrassing notice of the crowd, by assuming a
particular place in the procession, and finding themselves
confounded with more than three hundred equally splendid figures.
As the pageant, however, moved down the High Street, in a
continuous and open line, it was impossible not to distinguish the
singular loveliness of Lady Jean, and the gallant carriage of her
husband, from all the rest. Accordingly, the very trained bands and
city-guard, who lined the street, and who were, in general, quite as
insensible to the splendours of the Riding, as are the musicians in a
modern orchestra to the wonders of a melo-drama in its fortieth night
—even they perceived and admired the graces of the young couple,
whom they could not help gazing after with a stupid and lingering
delight. From the windows, too, and the stair-heads, their beauty was
well observed, and amply conjectured and commented on; while
many a young cavalier endeavoured, by all sorts of pretences, to find
occasion to break the order of the cavalcade, and get himself haply
placed nearer to the exquisite figure of which he had got just one
killing glance in the square. Slowly and majestically the brilliant train
paced down the great street of Edinburgh, the acclamations of the
multitude ceaselessly expressing the delight which the people of
Scotland felt in this sensible type and emblem of their ancient
independence. At length they reached the court-yard of Holyrood-
house, where the duke and duchess invited the whole assemblage
to a ball, which they designed to give that evening in the hall of the
palace; after which, all departed to their respective residences
throughout the town, Lords Wigton and Linlithgow taking their young
friends under their immediate protection, and seeking the residence
of the former nobleman, a little way up the Canongate. In riding
thither, the lovers had leisure to explain to their parents the singular
circumstances of their union, and address enough to obtain
unqualified forgiveness for their imprudence. On alighting at Lord
Wigton’s house, Lady Jean found her sisters confined to their rooms
with headaches, or some such serious indisposition, and in the
utmost dejection on account of having been thereby withheld from
the riding of the Parliament. Their spirits, as may be supposed, were
not much elevated, when, on coming forth in dishabille to welcome
their sister, they found she had had the good fortune to be married
before them. Their ill luck was, however, irremediable; and so,
making a merit of submitting to it, they condescended to be rather
agreeable during the dinner and the afternoon. It was not long before
all parties were perfectly reconciled to what had taken place; and by
the time it was necessary to dress for the ball, the elder young ladies
declared themselves so much recovered as to be able to accompany
their happy sister. The Earl of Linlithgow and his son then sent a
servant for proper dresses, and prepared themselves for the
occasion without leaving the house. When all were ready, a number
of chairs were called to transport their dainty persons down the
street. The news of Lady Jean’s arrival, and of her marriage, having
now spread abroad, the court in front of the house, the alley, and
even the open street, were crowded with people of all ranks, anxious
to catch a passing glimpse of the heroine of so strange a tale. As her
chair was carried along, a buzz of admiration from all who were so
happy as to be near it, marked its progress. Happy, too, was the
gentleman who had the good luck to be near her chair as it was set
down at the palace gate, and assist her in stepping from it upon the
lighted pavement. From the outer gate, along the piazza of the inner
court, and all the way up the broad staircase to the illuminated hall,
two rows of noblemen and gentlemen formed a brilliant avenue as
she passed along, while a hundred plumed caps were doffed in
honour of so much beauty, and as many youthful eyes glanced bright
with satisfaction at beholding it. The object of all this attention tripped
modestly along in the hand of the Earl of Linlithgow, acknowledging,
with many a graceful flexure and undulation of person, the
compliments of the spectators. At length the company entered the
spacious and splendid room in which the ball was to be held. At the
extremity opposite to the entry, upon an elevated platform, sat the
three royal personages, all of whom, on Lady Jean’s introduction,
rose and came forward to welcome her and her husband to the
entertainments of Holyrood, and to hope that her ladyship would
often adorn their circle. In a short time the dancing commenced; and
amidst all the ladies who exhibited their charms and their magnificent
attire in that captivating exercise, who was, either in person or dress,
half so brilliant as Lady Jean?
FALLACIES OF THE YOUNG.
“FATHERS HAVE FLINTY HEARTS.”
I only quote this popular expression from a very popular play, in

order to warn my juvenile friends against being too much impressed
by it. It is a fatal error running through nearly the whole mass of our
fictitious literature, that parents are represented as invariably
adverse, through their own cruel and selfish views, to the inclinations
of their children: either the glowing ambition and high spirit of the boy
is repressed by the cold calculations of his father, who wishes him to
become a mere creature of the counting-room and shop like himself;
or the romantic attachment of the girl to some elegant Orlando,
procures her a confinement to her chamber, with no other alternative
than that of marrying a detestable suitor, whom her father prefers to
all others on account of his wealth. Then, the boy always runs away
from his father’s house, and, by following his own inclinations,
acquires fortune and fame; while the girl as invariably leaps a three-
pair-of-stairs window, and is happy for life with the man of her
choice. The same dangerous system pervades the stage, where, I
am sorry to remark, every vicious habit of society, and every
impropriety in manners and speech, is always sure to be latest
abandoned.
I warn my juvenile readers most emphatically against the fallacy
and delusion which prevails upon this subject. Fathers, as a class,
have not flinty hearts, nor is it their wish or interest, in general, to
impose a cruel restraint upon their children. Young people would do
well to examine the circumstances in which they stand in regard to
their parents and guardians, before believing in the reality of that
schism which popular literature would represent as invariably
existing between their own class and that of their natural protectors.
The greater part, I am sure, of my young friends, must have
observed, that, so long as they can remember, they have been
indebted for every comfort, and for a thousand acts of kindness and
marks of affection, to those endeared beings—their father and
mother. The very dawning light of existence must have found them in
the enjoyment of many blessings procured to them solely by those
two individuals. From them must have been derived the food they
ate, the bed they lay on, the learning at school which enabled their
minds to appreciate all the transactions and all the wisdom of past
times, and, greatest blessing of all, the habits of devotional exercise
which admitted them to commune with their almighty Creator. Surely
it is not to be supposed that, at a certain time, the kindness and
friendship of these two amiable persons is all at once converted into
a malignant contrariety to the interests of their children. Is it not far
more likely, my dear young friends, that they continue, as ever, to be
your well-wishers and benefactors: and that the opposition which
they seem to set up so ungraciously against your inclinations, is only
caused by their sense of the dangers which threaten you in the event
of your being indulged? It may appear to you that no such danger
exists: that your parents are actuated by narrower and meaner views
than your own, or that they do not allow for the feelings of youth. But
they are in reality deeply concerned for the difference of your
feelings from theirs; they sympathise with them in secret, from a
recollection of what were their own at your period of life; but know,
from that very experience of your feelings, and of their result, that it
is not good for you that they should be indulged. You are, then,
called upon—and I do so now in the name of your best feelings, and
as you would wish for present or future happiness—to trust in the
reality of that parental tenderness which has never, heretofore,
known interruption, and in the superiority of that wisdom with which
years and acquaintance with the world have invested your parents.
Perhaps, my young friends, you may have perceived, even in the
midst of your childish frolics and careless happiness, that your
parents were obliged to deny themselves many indulgences, and toil
hard in their respective duties, in order to obtain for you the comforts
which you enjoy. You may have perceived that your father, after he
had returned home from his daily employment, could hardly be
prevailed upon to enter, as you wished, into your sports, or to assist
you with your lessons, but would sit, in silent and abstracted
reflection, with a deep shade of care upon his brow. On these
occasions, perhaps, your amiable and kind protector is considering
how difficult it is, even with all his industry, and all his denial of
indulgences to himself, to procure for you an exemption from that
wretchedness in which you see thousands of other children every
day involved. But though many are the cares which your parents
experience, in the duty of rearing you to manhood, there is none so
severe or so acute as that which comes upon them at the period of
your entering into life. Heretofore, you were simple little children, with
hardly a thought beyond the family scene in which you have enjoyed
so many comforts. Heretofore, with the exception of occasional
rebukes from your parents, and trifling quarrels with your brothers
and sisters, you have all been one family of love, eating at the same
board, kneeling in one common prayer, loving one another, as the
dearest of all friends. But now the scene becomes very different. You
begin to feel, within yourselves, separate interests, and each thinks
himself best qualified to judge for himself. At that moment, my young
friends, the anxiety of your parents is a thousand times greater than
it ever was before. Your father, probably, is a man of formed habits
and character; he occupies a certain respectable station in the world;
he has all his life been governed by certain principles, which he
found to be conducive to his comfort and dignity. But though he has
been able to conduct himself through the world in this satisfactory
manner, he is sensible, from the various and perhaps altogether
opposite characters which nature has implanted in you, that you may
go far wide of what have been his favourite objects, and perhaps be
the means of impairing that respectability which he, as a single
individual, has hitherto maintained. It is often observed in life, that
children who have been reared by poor but virtuous parents, as if
their minds had received in youth a horror for every attribute of
poverty, exert themselves with such vigorous and consistent
fortitude, as to end with fortune and dignity; while the children,
perhaps, of these individuals, being brought up without the same
acquaintance with want and hardship, are slothful through life, and
soon bring back the family to its original condition. If you then have
been reared in easy circumstances, you may believe what I now tell
you, that your approach to manhood or womanhood will produce a
degree of anxiety in the breasts of your parents, such as would, if
you knew it, make your very heart bleed for their distress, and cause
you to appear as monsters to yourselves if you were to act in any
great degree differently from what they wished.
How much, then, is it your duty, my young friends, to treat the
advices and wishes of your parents, at this period of life, with
respect, knowing, as you do, that the future happiness of those dear
and kind beings depends almost solely upon your conducting
yourselves properly in your first steps into life! Should you be so
unfortunate as to be beguiled into bad company, or to contract a
disposition to indulgences which are the very bane of existence, and
the ruin of reputation, what must be the agony of those individuals
who have hitherto loved and cherished you, and indulged, perhaps,
in very different anticipations! On the contrary, should you yield
respect, as far as it is in your nature, to the maxims which your father
has endeavoured to impress, with what delight does he look forward
to your future success—with what happy confidence does he rely
upon your virtuous principles! And may there be no happiness to
you, in contemplating the happiness which you have given to him?
Yes, much, I am sure, and of a purer kind than almost any which
earthly things can confer upon you here below.
I have one word to add, and it is addressed to the female part of
my juvenile readers. Exactly as parents feel a concern for the first
appearance of their sons in the business of life, so do they
experience many anxious and fearful thoughts respecting the
disposal of their daughters in matrimony. Wedded life, I may inform
them, is not the simple matter which it appears prospectively in early
and single life. As it involves many serious duties and
responsibilities, it must be entered upon with a due regard to the
means—above all things, the pecuniary means—of discharging
these in a style of respectability, such as may be sufficient to support
the dignity of the various connexions of the parties. It is, therefore,
necessary that no person of tender years (this is most frequently the
lot of the female) should contract the obligations of matrimony,
without, if possible, the entire sanction of parents or other protectors.
The people of this country happen to entertain, upon this subject,
notions of not so strict a kind as are prevalent in most other nations.
In almost all continental and all eastern countries, the female is
reared by her friends as the destined bride of a particular individual,
and till her marriage she is allowed no opportunity of bestowing her
affections upon any other. The custom is so ancient and so
invariable, that it is submitted to without any feeling of hardship; and
as prudence is the governing principle of the relations, the matches
are generally as happy as if they were more free. Perhaps such a
custom is inapplicable to this country, on account of our different
system of domestic life; but I may instance it, to prove to my fair
young readers, that the control of parents over their choice of a
husband ought to be looked upon as a more tolerable and
advantageous thing, than their inclinations might be disposed to
allow, or our popular literature represents it to be.
BRUNTFIELD,
A TALE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
The war carried on in Scotland, by the friends and enemies of Queen

Mary, after her departure into England, was productive of an almost
complete dissolution of order, and laid the foundation of many feuds
which were kept up by private families and individuals long after all
political cause of hostility had ceased. Among the most remarkable
quarrels which history or tradition has recorded as arising out of that
civil broil, I know of none so deeply cherished, or accompanied by so
many romantic and peculiar circumstances, as one which took place
between two old families of gentry in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh. Stephen Bruntfield, laird of Craighouse, had been a
zealous and disinterested partisan of the queen. Robert Moubray of
Barnbougle was the friend successively of Murray and Morton, and
distinguished himself very highly in their cause. During the year
1572, when Edinburgh castle was maintained by Kirkaldy of Grange
in behalf of the queen, Stephen Bruntfield held out Craighouse in the
same interest, and suffered a siege from a detachment of the forces
of the regent, commanded by the laird of Barnbougle. This latter
baron, a man of fierce and brutal nature, entered life as a younger
brother, and at an early period chose to cast his fate among the
Protestant leaders, with a view of improving his fortunes. The death
of his elder brother in rebellion at Langside, enabled the Regent
Murray to reward his services with a grant of the patrimonial estate,
of which he did not scruple to take possession by the strong hand, to
the exclusion of his infant niece, the daughter of the late proprietor.
Some incidents which occurred in the course of the war had inspired
a mutual hatred of the most intense character into the breasts of
Bruntfield and Moubray; and it was therefore with a feeling of strong
personal animosity, as well as of political rancour, that the latter
undertook the task of watching the motions of Bruntfield at
Craighouse. Bruntfield, after holding out for many months, was
obliged, along with his friends in Edinburgh castle, to yield to the
party of the regent. Like Kirkaldy and Maitland of Lethington, he
surrendered upon a promise of life and estate; but while his two
friends perished, one by the hand of the executioner, the other by his
own hand, he fell a victim to the sateless spite of his personal
enemy, who, in conducting him to Edinburgh as a prisoner, took fire
at some bitter expression on the part of the captive, and smote him
dead upon the spot.
Bruntfield left a widow and three infant sons. The lady of
Craighouse had been an intimate of the unfortunate Mary from her
early years; was educated with her in France, in the Catholic faith;
and had left her court to become the wife of Bruntfield. It was a time
calculated to change the natures of women, as well as of men. The
severity with which her religion was treated in Scotland, the wrongs
of her royal mistress, and finally the sufferings and death of her
husband, acting upon a mind naturally enthusiastic, all conspired to
alter the character of Marie Carmichael, and substitute for the rosy
hues of her early years, the gloom of the sepulchre and the
penitentiary. She continued, after the restoration of peace, to reside
in the house of her late husband; but though it was within two miles
of the city, she did not for many years re-appear in public. With no
society but that of her children, and the persons necessary to attend
upon them, she mourned in secret over past events, seldom stirring
from a particular apartment, which, in accordance with a fashion by
no means uncommon, she had caused to be hung with black, and
which was solely illuminated by a lamp. In the most rigorous
observances of her faith, she was assisted by a priest, whose
occasional visits formed almost the only intercourse which she
maintained with the external world. One strong passion gradually
acquired a complete sway over her mind—Revenge—a passion
which the practice of the age had invested with a conventional
respectability, and which no kind of religious feeling, then known,
was able either to check or soften. So entirely was she absorbed by
this fatal passion, that her very children, at length, ceased to have
interest or merit in her eyes, except in so far as they appeared likely
to be the means of gratifying it. One after another, as they reached
the age of fourteen, she sent them to France, in order to be

Industry 4 0 The Global Industrial Revolution Achievements Obstacles and Research Needs For The Digital Transformation of Industry Johannes Winter

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Industry 4 0 The Global Industrial Revolution Achievements Obstacles and Research Needs For The Digital Transformation of Industry Johannes Winter

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Industry 4 0 The Global Industrial

Revolution Achievements Obstacles

Electronics in Advanced Research Industries Industry 4

Construction 4 0 Advanced Technology Tools and

Industry X 0 Realizing Digital Value in Industrial

Industry 5 0 The Future of the Industrial Economy 1st

Data science and digital transformation in the fourth

Artificial Intelligence in Industry 4 0 A Collection of

the DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION of the AUTOMOtive INDUSTRy

The Digital Transformation of Logistics Demystifying

Industry 4.0 - The Global

Basel ‚ Beijing ‚ Wuhan ‚ Barcelona ‚ Belgrade ‚ Novi Sad ‚ Cluj ‚ Manchester

ISBN 978-3-0365-9663-1 (Hbk)

Cover image courtesy of Pugun & Photo Studio

About the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Henning Kagermann and Wolfgang Wahlster

Martin Lindner, Lukas Bank, Johannes Schilp and Matthias Weigold

Tobias Harland, Christian Hocken, Tobias Schröer and Volker Stich

Christoph-Alexander Holst and Volker Lohweg

Abdelkarim Alhloul and Eva Kiss

Johannes Winter, Anna Frey and Jan Biehler

3. Servitization in Industry: From Selling Products to Smart Product–Service Systems

3.3. Outcome-Oriented Smart Services

Figure 2. Value architecture of data-driven

Another exampleAnother example isof

5. Discussion: Data-Driven Product and Service Revolution

1 acatech—National Academy of Science and Engineering, 80333 Munich, Germany

Citation: Kagermann, H.; Wahlster,

Figure 1. A Cobot and a Softbot helping a human worker (Source: DFKI).

mass customization, i.e., the competitively priced production of individualized, tailor-made

4. Key Challenge: Managing the Digital Transformation of the

6. Strategic Field of Action I: Towards Zero-Defect Manufacturing Based on Industrial

Figure 4. AI-based quality

Of course, the Of course,

8. Outlook: Industrie 4.0 Has Still a Long Way to Go

Keywords: digital twin; digital manufacturing; Industry 4.0

in German-speaking countries. This provides a framework for digitizing the factory, so a

2. State of the Art and Research

2.2. Asset Administration Shell (AAS)

2.3. Digital Twin

A DM is a digital representation of an existing or planned physical object that does

Concept Case-Study Review Definition

DS based on the definition of a Digital Model, if there further exists an automated

Based on this clarification, the concept of the three-dimensional DT is established. This

2.4. Research Methodology

2.4.1. Step 1—Preparation

2.4.2. Step 2—Planning

2.4.3. Step 3—Screening

Electrical and Electronic

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

2.4.4. Step 4—Classification

2.5. Definitions of Digital Twin

Topic Reference Definition Year Key Element

Topic Reference Definition Year Key Element

Coupled model of the real machine that operates in the

A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world

The dynamic virtual representation of a physical object virtual model, real

Topic Reference Definition Year Key Element

Digital model of one or more real-world entities, virtual model,

A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world real asset, virtual

If the data flows between an existing physical object and

Topic Reference Definition Year Key Element

DT Element Based on Reference