Digital Twin for Industry 4.0

Recent advances in both portable and wearable VR devices and the new challenges introduced by the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0) further widen the applicability of VR to improve productivity and to enhance the user experience. The emergence of new technologies including Industry 4.0, has spawned a new generation of connected, robotic and smart factories. With the digital revolution, the boundaries between the physical and digital world are shrinking, giving life to an interconnected 4.0 factory where employees, machines and products closely interact.

Industrial applications of Virtual Reality are transforming the way new products are designed, bringing new possibilities. Overall, the application of VR to the domain of industry is relevant since it greatly improves the communication in product design and production development. The direct benefits are an optimization of handling and operation times, proper use of materials, and the execution of the right tasks at the right time. It helps to identify and avoid design errors in early stages of the development process; it reduces the number of physical prototypes and saves time and cost for enterprises. Digital Twin using VR is considered a valuable tool for improving and accelerating product and process development in many industrial applications. As such we aim to address the following questions:

- How can VR strengthen/improve the factories of the future?
- What are the limits and issues that may prevent the effective and efficient application of VR in Industry 4.0?
- What lessons can be learned from real, working VR applications implemented in Industry 4.0?
- What are the benefits (quantitative and qualitative) of VR in Industry 4.0?
- Changes in trends and ways of thinking for factories are required to foster industry 4.0?

In terms of topics, this could include (but are not limited to) the following, always focused on industrial applications:
- VR applications for the Industry 4.0
- Digital Twin for processes and products
- Interactive simulators
- Human-robot interaction and visualization
- Process simulation with VR
- Interaction
- Visualization of robotics and cobots in processes
- Intelligent decisions from VR simulators
- Haptics for industry applications
- 3D advanced visualization