Shorter product lifecycles are also leading to even shorter planning times for the development of production systems. In most companies, the restructuring is carried out within a few weeks during the annual holidays. Digital tools such as simulations or the digital twin are used to avoid delaying the restructuring during this time. However, the introduction of a 3D model of the factory is often the first point of failure for many companies. This article proposes a six-step process model that enables the transition from 2D to 3D design. The process model was evaluated in a research project.

Autonomous vehicles for the last mile are a promising use case for advancing autonomous driving in real-world traffic. For this purpose, traditional car manufacturers and newcomer companies develop a new vehicle concept: the autonomous shuttle. During the development, components from the automation domain, such as the sensors, must be placed and integrated into the vehicle body. The trade-offs between the functional performance of the perception and the exterior design must be evaluated early in the design process. For this purpose, a model of the vehicle exterior is needed. In this contribution, we present a method for parametric modeling of the vehicle exterior of autonomous shuttles. We define 17 input parameters and use computer-aided design to create a virtual model of the body and the wheelhouses. In the results, we validate our method by ensuring that existing shuttles can be modeled with our approach and also analyze the limitations. The model supports decision-making in the early design phase by enabling quick iterations between sensor placement and exterior design.

The development of cloud-based Computer-aided design (CAD) enabled real-time CAD collaboration between multiple designers. While this technology has great potential to change the way CAD work is done, it is still little explored. This paper presents a case with two high-performing and two low-performing three-member teams monitored with non-invasive methods (log data) during a six-week design project. The results show that high-performing teams focused more on the editing of assembly, while low-performing teams focused on creating and editing a part. Furthermore, high-performing teams tended to perform consecutive deleting actions and to transition to creating and editing classes of CAD actions after performing viewing actions. Two modelling approaches which lead to high-quality CAD models were identified. One approach is characterized by frequent use of transitions between editing and Organizing-Design (collaborative actions) classes, while the other between creating, editing and reversing classes. Presented results allow design teams to gain insight into sequential patterns which led to the generation of a high-quality CAD model and to better understand the CAD modelling process.

Autonomous vehicle solutions (AVS) are regarded as a major enabling technology to support the realization of 'total site solutions' in the construction equipment industry. Their full-scale deployment is hindered today by the need to test autonomous driving capabilities against the varying conditions an AVS is expected to be exposed to during its lifetime. Therefore, using virtual simulation environments is common to overcome the cost and time limitations of physical testing. A caveat in this virtual verification and validation (V&V) work is how to trade off the ‘realism’ of the V&V output (using high-fidelity models across many scenarios) against computational time. This research investigates expectations and needs for value-driven decision support in the virtual V&V process, proposing an approach and a tool to raise awareness among decision-makers about the value associated with using selected simulation models/components in the virtual verification and validation task for AVS. Verification activities performed on the initial prototype show that its main benefit lies in facilitating cross-domain negotiations and knowledge sharing when negotiating the desired features of the virtual simulation environment.

Design is multi-modal, and depending on the current stage in the process, progress can be facilitated through working in either the physical or virtual domain with frequent iterations commonly required between. Traditionally, prototyping workflows are sequential, although current trends such as Digital Twinning and Mixed Reality (MR) enable decreased domain transition times, reducing the cycle time. This leads towards fully integrated digital-physical prototypes, enabling work in both domains simultaneously by increasing synchronicity of select variables. This paper considers those variables involved, the sensors that measure them and their rate of synchronisation, thereby investigating the feasibility of MR workflow interventions, and exploring the benefits that may be realised. The paper identifies four components of MR implementations in prototyping and myriad methods by which domain transition may occur and uses these in context of a case study to propose four levels of workflow synchronisation. It was found achieving some high rates of synchronicity is possible, but achieving the highest levels as prescribed by digital twinning is neither feasible nor pragmatic against current MR capabilities and design prototyping workflows.

Virtual Reality (VR) is progressively adopted at different stages of design and product development. Consequently, evolving interaction requirements in engineering design and development for VR are essential for technology adoption. One of these requirements is real-time positional tracking. This paper aims to present an experimental design of a new real-time positional tracking device (tracker), that is more compact than the existing solution, while addressing factors such as wearability and connectivity. We compare the simulation of the proposed device and the existing solution, discuss the results, and the limitations. The new experimental shape of the device is tailored towards research, allowing the engineering designer to take advantage of a new tracker alternative in new ways, and opens the door to new VR applications in research and product development.

The development of cyber-physical systems requires close cooperation between stakeholders from different disciplines. Model-based systems engineering support this by the design of a system model. Non-identified domain knowledge by the stakeholders is a challenge when creating the system model. The CONSENS 3D-Modeling Method supports the domain-independent elicitation of domain knowledge using a 3D environment and enables the derivation of a SysML system model. We applyed the method by implementing a prototype, called 3D Engineer, to an application example from the automotive industry.

The belt units of an omnidirectional treadmill need to be connected for a continuous rotational transmission with variating axes angle. Torus gearing is not appropriate due to kinematic reasons, therefore a crown gearing with cone-shaped teeth is proposed. Parameter analysis on a virtual kinematics model show that depending on the cone angle, overlaps occur at different axis angles. Consequently, the shape of the teeth is modified with tip and foot relief and optimized so that no overlapping of the teeth occurs while a large path of contact is provided.

The value of models is well recognised in product and systems engineering. Modelling languages and diagrams are used to capture mental models and to handle model complexity. Literature research indicates that there are only very few approaches to utilise the potential of virtual and augmented reality for supporting tasks in model based (systems) engineering. The paper at hand contributes a new morphology of intuitive interaction for Immersive Abstraction as a holistic approach to extend that coverage. It presents a holistic framework to categorise solutions and future research directions.

Over the last two decades, a concept called Digital Twin has evolved rapidly. Yet, there is no unified definition of the term. Based on a literature study and an industrial case study, an overarching definition of Digital twins is presented. Three characteristics were identified – representation of a physical system, bidirectional data exchange, and the connection along the entire lifecycle. Further, three sub-concepts are presented, namely: Engineering Twin, Production Twin, and Operation Twin. The presented paper thus formulates a consistent and detailed definition of Digital Twins.

Use of virtual reality (VR) is considered beneficial for reviewing 3D models throughout product design. However, research on its usability in the design field is still explorative, and previous studies are often contradictory regarding the usability of VR for 3D model review. This paper argues that the usability of VR should be assessed by analysing human factors such as spatial perception and taking into consideration the complexity of the reviewed product. Hence, a comparative evaluation study has been conducted to assess spatial perception in desktop interface-based and VR-based review of 3D models of products with different levels of complexity. The results show that participants in VR more could perceive the fit of user interface elements, and estimation of the model dimensions had a lower relative error than in desktop interface. It has been found that various sensory cues are used to perceive the model size and that the employed sensory cues depend on the level of complexity. Finally, it is proposed that differences between a desktop interface and VR for reviewing models are more evident when reviewing models of higher complexity levels.

An early evaluation of a product along with the consideration of life phase specific actor(s) and environment(s) can help greatly to gain an understanding of the product's behaviour and interactions. Virtual Reality (VR) can help designers to examine later life situations of a product by means of use case scenarios. However, preparing a VR-scene is still a time-consuming and cumbersome task. A model based approach that uses behaviour models of SysML to describe a VR-scene can reduce the preparation efforts. Such an approach is helpful if it allows the reuse of already described VR-scenes or their contents. This paper talks about the reusability of SysML behaviour models that constitute a VR-scene. This reusability can only be achieved by the generic definition of model interfaces. Therefore, a new modelling approach is presented to facilitate the reuse of SysML behaviour models to form different use cases of a product in VR. This approach also talks about the interface definitions and the management of variants of SysML models. The presented approach is elaborated by an example model that contains variants and uses instances to build different use cases.

Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) is well-known in gaining the control over the complexity of systems and the development processes, while agile is a project management methodology originally from software development that uses short development cycles to focus on continuous improvement in the development of a product or service. In this paper, we adopt the concept of agile into MBSE and then proposed the new approach - Munich Agile MBSE Concept (MAGIC). The highlights of the MAGIC approach can be concluded as 1) the requirements which have been defined in the first stage will be examined and traced at each following stages; 2) communication between every 2 stages always exists in order to have a close connection during each system development phase; 3) the idea of Industry 4.0 has been included and reflected to achieve automation and data exchange with manufacturing technologies; 4) the concept of IOT (Internet of Things) is also considered when it comes to the usage and service of the system to satisfy the customer's needs; 5) the whole spirit of agile is reflected as the iterative and incremental design and development