Collaborative Digital Twins (CDT)

Basic Concept

The Collaborative Digital Twins (CDT) project group is a joint project of the prostep ivip association and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The project group was founded in 2022 with the aim to develop a definition and content design of digital twins from the perspective of prostep ivip and to bundle current activities. Despite the relevance and high level of attention in publications and in the community, the prostep ivip association has not taken a clear position on the topic of digital twins. In addition, several existing project groups are working on topics that are related to digital twins or whose results can be used to develop digital twins. CDT is the home of Digital Twins and thus bundles the relevant discussions within prostep ivip about Digital Twins from a methodological, technical and legal point of view, enabling member companies to embark on the path towards collaborative Digital Twins.

Focus Areas & Concrete Results 2024 – User Perspective

In 2024, the focus of CDT from a user perspective was on developing user journeys in the context of collaborative digital twins. 

Five of these user journeys were detailed, covering typical situations of cross-company collaboration. These include (0) “Collaboration Model Setup”, (1) “Collaborative Requirements Engineering”, (2) “Collaborative Systems Modelling”, (3) “Collaborative Simulation”, (4) “Collaborative Integration & Testing” and (5) „Collaborative Manufacturing Engineering“ in progress. 

In addition, user journeys were defined in the context of configuration change management. At the same time, a comprehensive glossary of digital twins was created and made available to user companies.

Focus Areas & Concrete Results 2024 – Vendor Perspective

From a vendor perspective, the concept of CDT-enabled IT architectures is of particular interest, as it addresses the IT requirements for inter-company content exchange for digital twins. A highlight here is the CDT Implementors Lab, which started in 2024. 

In this Implementors Lab, the user journeys and the conceptualized IT architecture will be realized using a demonstrator and the required capabilities are covered by different vendors. This makes it possible to simulate the usual heterogeneous IT landscapes in user companies. The cross-company file exchange is built on the results of Catena-X. The results are compared and aligned in close coordination with other organizations and project groups.

Organizational / Technical Challenges in 2024

In 2024, the CDT managed to collect the first consortium contributions and establish stable project operations. The breadth and complexity of the topic in general, and of the project in particular, remain the key technical and content challenge. In addition, the Engineering-X project was included in the project group in 2024, which has allowed new member companies to join. The task now is to integrate their wishes and requirements into the project group.

What is planned next year

The goal for 2025 is to implement the CDT demonstrator based on a few user journeys. To achieve this, the Implementors Lab needs to be up and running. The necessary IT infrastructure has to be provided and a concept for the exploitation of the results has to be developed. In addition, the results will continue to be aligned with other initiatives such as Catena-X, Tractus-X, CPO, or DDP. Several presentations are planned at the prostep ivip Symposium 2025 to discuss and further develop the results in the context of the whole association. In addition, several publications are planned to communicate parts of the results.

Comments Project Coordinator

 "After last year's ramp-up, the project group is now in full swing and producing its first results. We look forward to consolidating these in the coming year and translating them into a demonstrator in the Implementors Lab." 

(Dr. Sebastian Schweigert-Recksiek, :em engineering methods AG)

Quote from Project Partners

„The “Collaborative Digital Twins” project group is of great importance to AVL. It gives us the opportunity to contribute our expertise in a targeted manner and to actively shape developments in the field of digital twins. Thanks to the broad consortium, an interdisciplinary and industry-open solution for cross-company collaboration based on digital twins is being developed. Our collaboration ensures that we are at the forefront of developments.“ 

(Andrea Denger, AVL List GmbH)

“Joining the prostep ivip project 'Collaborative Digital Twin' is very valuable to develop a hands-on understanding of how development collaboration will look in the age of data. As project members, we engage in open and challenging exchanges at a pre-competitive level; innovative ideas and best practices emerge thanks to the expertise and diverse backgrounds of the participants. Where existing technologies show limitations, this project serves as an excellent platform to raise awareness of the requirements for further development, ensuring that the industry continues to evolve and meet emerging challenges.” 

(Ernesto Mottola, Toyota Motor Corporation)