Digital Twins (DTws) can enhance simulation, modelling, design and decision-making capabilities across (and between) transdisciplinary teams of various engineering disciplines, throughout lifecycles of products or assets of interest. Yet, effective stakeholder collaboration may depend on interoperable models and data, which could be hampered by deviating user requirements or interpretations. Furthermore, security or resilience failures of certain DTws and the assets they represent, such as Critical National Infrastructure, can have severe implications for safety and privacy for users and the wider public. Given the multiplicity of DTws arising from these variations, collation of key sources of commonality, disagreement and uncertainty between stakeholders could support a more coordinated approach. Therefore, this research uses semi-structured interviews to understand the on-the-ground practical context of DTw adoption, gathering views of 23 transdisciplinary participants from the public sector, industry and academia. These interviews discuss existing DTw approaches and identify areas for future investigation, relating to: 1) implementation, sectoral needs and user expectations; 2) future trends and emerging synergistic or antagonistic technologies; and 3) context and impacts of IP and liability concerns.

Digital Twins (DTs) are becoming an empowering and pivotal element in many industries to exploit modern IT technologies across all sectors and gain significant benefits from preexisting as well as greenfield systems. This paper introduces a novel approach to building management and research in laboratory environments, utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM), DTs, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Extended Reality (XR). The work focuses on generating accurate 3D building models from point cloud scans, improving BIM's utility in structures lacking pre-existing digital models. Central to this approach is the integration of IoT sensors, tracking indoor air quality and occupancy. This data, combined with DTs of laboratory equipment, facilitates dynamic insights of transdisciplinary work at research and educational projects. Our models uniquely provide live data interaction, seamlessly linking the virtual and physical realms through DTs and XR technologies as an immersive interface. One of the problems at research institutes is the broad range of hazardous measuring devices, some of which require urgent safety precautions. Therefore, based on our models and technologies, we propose an XR-based collaborative platform for transdisciplinary research teams enabling immersive and intuitive interaction. By comprehensively gathering all the data, it is possible to continue investigating how social dynamics affect research environments and projects. This approach aims to make technology more attuned to the social dimensions of laboratory use. The paper highlights the potential of BIM, DTs, IoT, and XR to not only create and update models post-construction but also to enrich them with operational data, offering a socially aware perspective in research management.

Today's industry needs to be able to produce customised products in small batches with agility, low cost, and acceptable quality levels. The constant introduction of new products requires a rapid response to changes in the market and the implementation of innovative strategies. Manufacturing systems have evolved to meet market demands, considering crucial variables such as complexity, innovation, and responsiveness. Automation, using intelligent devices and various types of control proposes models and solutions for making industrial operations more flexible. The use of Petri Net modelling, a graphical technique that provides a clear and concise visual representation of complex systems, proves capable of intuitively mapping production line processes. The effectiveness of framework is enhanced by the integration of world-class manufacturing (WCM) principles. In this context, this article proposes a conceptual framework that combines reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) concepts modelled by Petri Nets, the assignment of weights inspired by WCM, and simulation using the Digital Twin (DT). The framework offers a new horizon for achieving operational efficiency and continuous adaptation. To validate the effectiveness of the framework, it took a proactive approach, using simulation in a virtual environment. This crucial step makes it possible to compare the results obtained virtually with the actual processes on the production lines. Applying this simulation not only verifies the robustness of the model but also provides crucial insights for ongoing adjustments.

Every country and culture have accumulated its cultural heritage over the centuries, mostly through figureheads: monuments, buildings, famous people... Physical monuments play a special role. Digitalization as a method for an alternative description of the real world has affected almost all areas of the economy and society. Increasing functionality and falling prices for mobile devices yield that more and more processes are being digitized. Digitalization has also encompassed the protection and maintenance of cultural heritage and helps to handle physical monuments as objects in the inventory. Once such objects have been recorded, such “digital twins” can be used in a variety of ways. One of the possible applications is the production of decorative items, which are highly demanded in countries with strong tourism, such as Croatia. These are mostly craft businesses that have been run by an extended family over generations. The specific know-how lies in metal and stone processing. Such a company with 3 employees, which produces “metal art” wants to expand its production program to include replicas of any object from the field of cultural heritage: monuments, busts, sculptures, or profiles. It is necessary to develop a process so that the original (physical object, 3D model, or photo) can be transformed into a replica from the desired material in the required scale (1-5). Market entry strategy should be developed too, incl. the marketing and sale of licenses to other producers. This paper describes how this complex process was implemented in a pilot project without expensive equipment and software licenses.