Digital Twin Wizard for System Testing

MAster assignment

Digital twin wizard for system testing

Type: Master CS or Master BIT

Period: Start date: as soon as possible

Student: Unassigned

If you are interested please contact:

T.M. Itäpelto MPhil (Taru) PhD Candidate

+31534894606

 t.m.itapelto@utwente.nl

Building: Zilverling 2013

Personal page

Abstract:
Digital Twins (DTs), consisting of a real system, its virtual replica, and bi-directional data flows between these two, are seen as a potential solution to test the cybersecurity of cyber-physical systems [1–4]. Even though research on DTs has significantly increased, the research topic is still relatively new, and many questions related to practical implementations still require further research, such as the knowledge and resource requirements related to manual creation and (re)configuration of the DTs [5] and their underlying models [6]. This thesis aims to explore how a DT wizard could be used to automatically generate DTs for testing based on user-customized test scenario settings, such as the system components, functionalities, networks,  configurations, executed tests, etc. The proposal includes investigating the potential languages and modelling approaches suitable for creating machine-readable specifications based on which a DT wizard can create a DT instance to execute the test scenarios the user has selected. Moreover, a practical implementation of a DT wizard capable of creating a DT for testing a simple example system is expected.

Literature review:

1. Conduct a comprehensive literature review of existing literature on DT-enabled system testing.
2. Explore the existing modelling approaches and languages suitable for specifying the target system and test scenarios in a machine-readable format.
3. Explore the different tools used to create a DT based on such machine-readable system and scenario specifications.
4. Explore existing DT prototypes for testing and assess whether these could be used as part of or as a basis for the example system to be developed.

Example Testing Scenario and DT Wizard Definition and Design:

1. Define a simple example system for which a DT wizard could create a customized DT.
2. Define a test scenario for this example system and identify requirements related to this test scenario.
3. Define the required DT wizard functionalities and requirements, such as enabling the user to select tested system components and test scenarios, constructing specifications based on these selections, using these specifications to create a customized DT, and executing the selected test scenario.
4. Create necessary designs for the example system, DT wizard, and test scenario to realize the functionalities needed to address the defined requirements. These designs may include models and specifications of system architecture, functionalities, processes, information flows, utilized tools, specification format(s), etc.

Practical Evaluation:

1. Implement the selected example system and DT wizard according to their designs.
2. Evaluate whether DT wizard can create specifications for specific system components and test scenarios.
3. Evaluate whether the DT wizard can use these specifications to create a DT and execute the specified test scenario.
4. The evaluation could also include comparing test scenario execution results in the example system and in its DT to verify that the DT wizard created has sufficient fidelity and that executing the test scenario within the DT produces accurate results.

Discussion and future directions:

1. Analyze the findings from the literature review and the practical project.
2. Discuss the trade-offs and challenges to consider when creating machine-readable DT and test scenario specifications.
3. Identify areas for further research and improvement.

Expected outcome:
The expected outcome of this research is a DT wizard enabling users to customize test scenarios. Based on these scenarios, the wizard generates machine-readable specifications that are then used to instantiate a DT. The thesis will provide insights into the modelling approaches and suitable languages for automatic DT creation based on specifications. The findings will contribute to developing practical solutions for creating customized DTs automatically.

References:

1. D. Holmes, M. Papathanasaki, L. Maglaras, M. A. Ferrag, S. Nepal, and H. Janicke, ‘Digital Twins and Cyber Security – solution or challenge?’, in 2021 6th South-East Europe Design Automation, Computer Engineering, Computer Networks and Social Media Conference (SEEDA-CECNSM), Preveza, Greece: IEEE, Sep. 2021, pp. 1–8. doi: 10.1109/SEEDA-CECNSM53056.2021.9566277.
2. R. Faleiro, L. Pan, S. R. Pokhrel, and R. Doss, ‘Digital Twin for Cybersecurity: Towards Enhancing Cyber Resilience’, in Broadband Communications, Networks, and Systems, W. Xiang, F. Han, and T. K. Phan, Eds., in Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 57–76. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-93479-8_4.
3. P. Empl and G. Pernul, ‘Digital-Twin-Based Security Analytics for the Internet of Things’, Information, vol. 14, no. 2, Art. no. 2, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.3390/info14020095.
4. M. Eckhart et al., "Security-Enhancing Digital Twins: Characteristics, Indicators, and Future Perspectives," in IEEE Security & Privacy, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 64-75, Nov.-Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1109/MSEC.2023.3271225.
5. H. Xu, J. Wu, Q. Pan, X. Guan and M. Guizani, "A Survey on Digital Twin for Industrial Internet of Things: Applications, Technologies and Tools," in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 2569-2598, Fourthquarter 2023, doi: 10.1109/COMST.2023.3297395.
6. F. Tao, B. Xiao, Q. Qi, J. Cheng, and P. Ji, ‘Digital twin modeling’, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, vol. 64, pp. 372–389, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2022.06.015.