This article presents the digital twin concept, which is an augmented manufacturing project created in close collaboration by SOVA Digital and the Institute of Automation, Measurement and Applied Informatics (ÚAMAI), of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava with the support of SIEMENS. The project is a technological concept focusing on the continuous optimization of production processes, proactive maintenance, and continuous processing of process data. This project is the basis for further work to promote the concept of Industry 4.0. for the needs of the industry subjects within Slovakia. Its basic goal is to support the existing production structures within the automotive industry and the most efficient use of resources by augmented production and planning strategies, such as the digital twin presented here.

Passenger detection and occupancy estimation are vital tasks in many fields. The existing literature emphasises that the increasing demand for such systems will continue to grow. This paper reviews the existing literature specializing in the field of transportation safety and efficiency concerning occupancy estimation in vehicles and passenger detection at public transport stations. A comparison between different approaches to passenger estimation is presented. Discussion on the advantages and disadvantages is highlighted. Hence, this paper provides an analysis of 146 papers on the current state of the field. This review paper concludes that invasive methods provide high accuracy with relatively cheap implementation, while noninvasive systems do not violate passenger privacy but lack state-of-the-art accuracy. Future work will include a systematic literature review and a comparative analysis of systems considering the existing window tinting and solar windshields heavily blocking certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Moreover, future work will investigate the critical challenges of noninvasive passenger estimation in different types of vehicles: trucks, buses, or even motorcycles.

This paper deals with the design and implementation of a universal cyber-physical model capable of simulating any production process in order to optimize its logistics systems. The basic idea is the direct possibility of testing and debugging advanced logistics algorithms using a digital twin outside the production line. Since the digital twin requires a physical connection to a real line for its operation, this connection is substituted by a modular cyber-physical system (CPS), which replicates the same physical inputs and outputs as a real production line. Especially in fully functional production facilities, there is a trend towards optimizing logistics systems in order to increase efficiency and reduce idle time. Virtualization techniques in the form of a digital twin are standardly used for this purpose. The possibility of an initial test of the physical implementation of proposed optimization changes before they are fully implemented into operation is a pragmatic question that still resonates on the production side. Such concerns are justified because the proposed changes in the optimization of production logistics based on simulations from a digital twin tend to be initially costly and affect the existing functional production infrastructure. Therefore, we created a universal CPS based on requirements from our cooperating manufacturing companies. The model fully physically reproduces the real conditions of simulated production and verifies in advance the quality of proposed optimization changes virtually by the digital twin. Optimization costs are also significantly reduced, as it is not necessary to verify the optimization impact directly in production, but only in the physical model. To demonstrate the versatility of deployment, we chose a configuration simulating a robotic assembly workplace and its logistics.

The paper deals with the possibility of using RTLS (realtime location system) connected to a simulation software as an additional measure to monitor material flow and to provide a more complex view on the problematics of weak spots in production process. The aim is to configure a RTLS system and apply it to a workplace to enable precise tracking of tags along the whole process and to design a module using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, which will be able to process the data received from RTLS database. The module is going to simulate the ideal scenario of material flowing throught workplace based on the average durations of monitored processes and compare it with the real material flow represented by data loaded from the RTLS database to determine the cause of delays in the production.

In the paper, first a basic concept of the approximation models of distributed parameter systems for modelling and control is introduced. Next, finite element method modelling of temperature field in extruder barrel is demonstrated and finite-dimensional approximation models are created. By means of DPS Blockset for MATLAB & Simulink, feedback system of control and also block scheme for co-simulation joining COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB & Simulink software environment are prepared. Finally, after simulation real-time control process of temperature field in extruder barrel is executed.

The arrival of Cyber-physical systems provided space for a new emerging field of research oriented on this type of embedded systems. The aim of this paper is to provide a better understanding of this integrative research field focused on the concept, architecture and challenges in deployment of such systems within the concept of Industry 4.0. Cyber-physical systems represent an emerging area of research that attracts the interest of researchers around the world, because, in the field of design and development of future systems, they are expected to play a major role.