C2PS: A Digital Twin Architecture Reference Model for the Cloud-Based Cyber-Physical Systems

Abstract

Cyber-physical system (CPS) is a new trend in the Internet-of-Things related research works, where physical systems act as the sensors to collect real-world information and communicate them to the computation modules (i.e. cyber layer), which further analyze and notify the findings to the corresponding physical systems through a feedback loop. Contemporary researchers recommend integrating cloud technologies in the CPS cyber layer to ensure the scalability of storage, computation, and cross domain communication capabilities. Though there exist a few descriptive models of the cloud-based CPS architecture, it is important to analytically describe the key CPS properties: computation, control, and communication. In this paper, we present a digital twin architecture reference model for the cloud-based CPS, C2PS, where we analytically describe the key properties of the C2PS. The model helps in identifying various degrees of basic and hybrid computation-interaction modes in this paradigm. We have designed C2PS smart interaction controller using a Bayesian belief network, so that the system dynamically considers current contexts. The composition of fuzzy rule base with the Bayes network further enables the system with reconfiguration capability. We also describe analytically, how C2PS subsystem communications can generate even more complex system-of-systems. Later, we present a telematics-based prototype driving assistance application for the vehicular domain of C2PS, VCPS, to demonstrate the efficacy of the architecture reference model.