Digital Twins in the IIoT: Current Practices and Future Directions Toward Industry 5.0

In this paper, we explore the ever-changing field of Digital Twins (DT) in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) context, emphasizing their critical role in advancing Industry 4.0 toward the frontiers of Industry 5.0. The article explores the applications of DT in several industrial sectors and their smooth integration into the IIoT, focusing on the fundamentals of digital twins and emphasizing the importance of virtual-real integration. It discusses the emergence of DT, contextualizing its evolution within the framework of IIoT. The study categorizes the different types of DT, including prototypes and instances, and provides an in-depth analysis of the enabling technologies such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), cloud computing, and the Application Programming Interface (API). The paper demonstrates the DT advantages through the practical integration of real-world case studies, which highlights the technology’s exceptional capacity to improve traceability and fault detection within the context of the IIoT. This paper offers a focused, application-driven perspective on DTs in IIoT, specifically highlighting their role in key production phases such as designing, intelligent manufacturing, maintenance, resource management, automation, security, and safety. By emphasizing their potential to support human-centric, sustainable advancements in Industry 5.0, this study distinguishes itself from existing literature. It provides valuable insights that connect theoretical advancements with practical implementation, making it a crucial resource for researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals.