Twins, pyramids and environments: unifying approaches to virtual testing

Abstract

There is a long history of the use of engineering simulation for design. This virtual approach is typically followed by physical prototyping, testing and refinement to reach a final design, followed in many cases by a physical testing regime to meet regulatory requirements. For many companies, the use of simulation tools has reduced the time and cost associated with getting new products to market due to the ability to explore multiple designs, and has reduced resource usage and improved product quality by enabling exploration of aspects of manufacturability and long term in-use performance.

Companies are increasingly seeking to gain similar benefits beyond the design stage. Some companies are adopting a “smarter testing” approach that uses a combination of physical test and verified simulation to reduce testing and approval costs. Some manufacturers are seeking to  improve lifetime prediction and understanding of real-world performance through digital twins. Regulators are seeking to gain demonstrable confidence in the safety of products such as autonomous vehicles by defining virtual tests of the vehicle’s artificial intelligence system that simulate rare events and safety-critical situations.

This paper discusses the common features, and differences between, the fields of smarter testing, digital twins, and virtual test environments. Starting from a consideration of commonality we highlight areas where existing methods and expertise could be better exploited, and identify areas where further research and development of tools would accelerate successful application of trustworthy digital assurance approaches in industry.