A ROS 2 and TwinCAT Based Digital Twin Framework for Mechatronics Systems
Alexander Sterk-Hansen, Bjørn H.H. Saghaug, Daniel Hagen, Muhammad Faisal Aftab
Abstract
This paper presents a digital twin framework as a first step towards developing digital twin-based control systems for autonomous lifting and load-handling operations. The proposed digital twin framework has been divided into three main parts: a) a real-time control and simulation environment using TwinCAT 3 running on a Beckhoff embedded PC with EtherCAT Fieldbus, b) a ROS 2 interface (middleware), and c) a virtual environment using the state-of-the-art game engine software NVIDIA Isaac Sim. The investigated case study demonstrates that the proposed architecture offers scalability and forms a promising baseline for further developing a general-purpose digital twin development platform suitable for developing autonomous control systems for various mechatronics systems and applications.