Enhancing Robotic Systems Through a Distributed Multi-Agent Digital Twin Environment

• Published in: 2024 IEEE Conference on Pervasive and Intelligent Computing (PICom) pp. 75 - 82
• Main Authors: Campo, Giovanni, Russo, Miriana, Santoro, Corrado, Santoro, Federico Fausto
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 05.11.2024
• Subjects: Collision avoidance; digital twin; Digital twins; internet of things; localisation; Monitoring; Optimization; path planning; Reliability; robotic systems; Robots; Safety; Testing; Translation; virtual environment; Virtual environments
• DOI: 10.1109/PICom64201.2024.00017

The rapid advancements in robotics and autonomous systems have led to the increasing complexity of these systems, necessitating the development of robust and reliable simulation environments. Traditional simulation approaches often fall short of capturing the nuances of real-world interactions and the dynamic nature of autonomous agents. To address these challenges, this paper presents the design and implementation of a Distributed Multi-Agent Digital Twin Environment system that enhances the performance and safety of robotic systems. The proposed system consists of three main components: the virtual environment, the real-world agent interface, and an optional viewer. The virtual environment, developed using the Godot game engine, simulates the behaviour of virtual agents, including static obstacles, dynamic obstacles, and other robotic agents, and synchronises the digital twin with the real-world system. The real-world agent interface, integrated within the actual robotic system, facilitates the communication between the real-world agent and the virtual environment, enabling the exchange of data and the translation of guidance commands. The optional viewer provides a centralised interface for administrators to monitor the virtual environments.