Robot digital twin systems in manufacturing: Technologies, applications, trends and challenges

•Propose a four-layer Robot Digital Twin (RDT) architecture that demonstrates how key Industry 4.0 technologies collectively enhance RDT’s capabilities in manufacturing systems.•Provide an in-depth analysis of current RDT systems’ applications from domain-specific and system-level perspectives, offe...

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Veröffentlicht in:Robotics and computer-integrated manufacturing Jg. 97; H. February 2026; S. 103103
Hauptverfasser: Qin, Qiang, Liu, Zhihao, Zhong, Ruirui, Wang, Xi Vincent, Wang, Lihui, Wiktorsson, Magnus, Wang, Wei
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2026
Schlagworte:
Adaptive control systems
Advanced robotic
Advanced robotics
Digital production system
Digital twin
Flexible manufacturing systems
Flexible production systems
Human robot interaction
Industrial research
Industry 4.0
Intelligent robots
Internet of things
Man machine systems
Manufacturing applications
Manufacturing challenges
Manufacturing industries
Manufacturing technologies
Materials handling
Predictive analytics
Robotic assembly
Smart manufacturing
Technology application
Technology challenges
Virtual Manufacturing Processes (VMP)
Advanced robotics
Industry 4.0
Digital twin
Smart manufacturing
ISSN:0736-5845, 1879-2537
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Zusammenfassung:•Propose a four-layer Robot Digital Twin (RDT) architecture that demonstrates how key Industry 4.0 technologies collectively enhance RDT’s capabilities in manufacturing systems.•Provide an in-depth analysis of current RDT systems’ applications from domain-specific and system-level perspectives, offering valuable insights into their implementation and potential impacts.•Identify critical trends, practical challenges, and promising future research directions for advancing RDT systems towards smarter and more adaptive manufacturing paradigms. The manufacturing industry is undergoing a profound transformation toward smart, digital, and flexible production systems under the Industry 4.0 framework. Within this paradigm, Digital Twin (DT) serves as a key enabler, bridging physical and digital domains to simulate, analyse, and optimise manufacturing operations. Concurrently, robotic systems, enhanced by smart sensor perception, Industrial Internet of Things connectivity, and adaptive control mechanisms, are increasingly deployed to handle complex and dynamic tasks. However, the evolving demands of the modern manufacturing industry require a high degree of flexibility and responsiveness, necessitating more intelligent solutions. The Robot Digital Twin (RDT) has emerged as a transformative approach, facilitating dynamic adaptation and continuous operational improvement. This review offers a comprehensive examination of the literature on RDT in manufacturing from both technology and application perspectives, aiming to provide insight for researchers and practitioners in Industry 4.0. The paper introduces a four-layer RDT system architecture and summarises how Industry 4.0 technologies, e.g., the Industrial Internet of Things, Cloud/Edge Computing, 5 G, Virtual Reality, Modelling and Simulation, and Artificial Intelligence, converge and influence the RDT system based on this architecture. Furthermore, the review covers domain-specific and system-level applications, such as assembly, machining, grasping, material handling, human-robot interaction, predictive maintenance, and additive manufacturing systems, with an analysis of their development status. Finally, the trends, practical challenges, and future research directions for RDT systems in manufacturing are summarised at different levels.
ISSN:0736-5845
1879-2537
DOI:10.1016/j.rcim.2025.103103