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Digital Twin Lab: Supporting Research and Development, and Standards and Implementations
Published
Author(s)
Rishabh Venketesh, Deogratias Kibira, Guodong Shao, Matthew Triebe
Abstract
Digitization in manufacturing is a concept that, while having existed for some time, can now be realized because of advancements in IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) enabling technologies and data standardization. Digital twins are at the forefront of this trend and have been implemented by some large manufacturers across the world. SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), while slower to adopt digital twin technologies, are currently in the process of digitizing their manufacturing operations. To encourage the adoption of digital twins by SMEs, the Systems Integration Division (SID) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has established a Digital Twin Laboratory (DTL) to serve as a testbed for helping speed up the process. In this paper, we will first outline the vision and objectives of the DTL, and then provide fundamental information on digital twins within the context of manufacturing. We will provide a detailed description of the DTL setup as well as case studies that are being implemented in the lab. Additionally, the relevant standards and potential areas of improvement in these standards will be discussed. Lastly, we will explore possible research areas that can be supported by the DTL and identify future efforts to accomplish research objectives.
data pipeline, digital twins, digital twin standards, laboratory, manufacturing cell, MTConnect, small and medium sized enterprises, smart manufacturing
Venketesh, R.
, Kibira, D.
, Shao, G.
and Triebe, M.
(2025),
Digital Twin Lab: Supporting Research and Development, and Standards and Implementations, Advanced Manufacturing Series (NIST AMS), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-68, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=956817
(Accessed October 9, 2025)