A Three-Tiered Model for Requirements in Digital Twin Architectures: Data, Intelligence and Interaction
Resumo
Digital Twins (DTs) have emerged as a transformative paradigm for real-time monitoring, simulation, and optimization of physical systems across domains such as manufacturing, energy, and education. However, the effectiveness and scalability of DTs applications are closely tied to the rigorous definition of their functional and non-functional requirements. This paper investigates the foundational role of requirements engineering in the design and deployment of DTS systems, emphasizing key aspects such as data acquisition, interoperability, real-time synchronization, security, and user interaction. Drawing from existing frameworks and case studies, we propose a three-tiered architectural model that organizes requirements across data, processing, and interaction layers. The study also highlights persistent gaps in current approaches—particularly the lack of linkage to measurable quality attributes and the absence of systematic methods for eliciting and evolving requirements. By analyzing domain-specific examples from education and energy, we demonstrate the importance of contextualizing requirements to ensure fidelity, usability, and operational effectiveness. This work contributes to the ongoing formalization of Digital Twin Engineering and proposes directions for future research toward scalable, adaptive, and ethically aligned DTs ecosystems.
Palavras-chave:
Digital Twins, Requirements Engineering, Software Architecture, Three-Tier Architecture, Functional Requirements, Non-Functional Requirements
Referências
M. W. Grieves, Digital twins past, present, and future, in The Digital Twin. Cham Springer International Publishing, 2023, pp. 97–121.
I. F. Silveira, A. Cardoso, and V. F. Martins, Aplicacoes, desafios e limitacoes dos Digital Twins na America Latina, in Anais do Congresso Latino-Americano de Software Livre e Tecnologias Abertas (Latinoware), Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, 2024, pp. 1–9.
J. Moyne et al. A requirements driven digital twin framework Specification and opportunities, IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 107781–107801, 2020. Available [link]
L. F. C. Durao, S. Haag, R. Anderl, K. Schutzer, and E. Zancul, Digital twin requirements in the context of Industry 4.0, in Proc. 15th IFIP WG 5.1 Int. Conf. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM 2018), Turin, Italy, 2018, pp. 204–214.
H. Boyes and T. Watson, Digital twins An analysis framework and open issues, Computers in Industry, vol. 143, art. 103763, pp. 1–13, 2022. Available [link]
W. N. Robinson, S. D. Pawlowski, and V. Volkov, Requirements interaction management, ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 132–190, 2003.
A. Nazir, A. Raana, and N. Majeed, Highlighting the role of Requirement Engineering and User Experience Design in Product Development Life Cycle, Int. J. Modern Education and Computer Science, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 34–41, 2014.
M. P. Guimaraes, V. F. Martins, C. Kirner, M. A. Eliseo, and A. L. S. Kawamoto, Estabelecimento de Requisitos para Aplicacoes de Realidade Aumentada, Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao, no. E17, pp. 463–475, 2019.
NASA - National Research Council et al. NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities Restoring NASAs Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space. Washington, DC National Academies Press, 2012.
A. G. de Siqueira, A. Cardoso, V. F. Martins, and I. F. Silveira, From Virtual Reality to Digital Twins The Long and Winding Road!, in Proc. Simposio de Realidade Virtual e Aumentada (SVR), SBC, Sept. 2024, pp. 73–77.
S. Zacher, Digital twins for education and study of engineering sciences, Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol. vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 61–69, 2020.
Z. Nazari and P. Musilek, Impact of digital transformation on the energy sector A review, Algorithms, vol. 16, no. 4, art. 211, 2023.
M. Mashaly, Connecting the twins A review on digital twin technology & its networking requirements, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 184, pp. 299–305, 2021.
A. Khodadadi and S. Lazarova-Molnar, Essential data requirements for industrial energy-efficiency with digital twins A case-study analysis, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 238, pp. 631–638, 2024. Available [link]
R. Carvalho and A. R. da Silva, Sustainability requirements of digital-twin-based systems A meta systematic literature review, Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 12, art. 5519, pp. 1–19, 2021. Available [link]
J. Jorgensen, M. Hodkiewicz, E. Cripps, and G. M. Hassan, Requirements for the application of the Digital Twin Paradigm to offshore wind turbine structures for uncertain fatigue analysis, Computers in Industry, vol. 145, art. 103806, 2023.
T. G. Kirner and V. F. M. Salvador, Contribuicao a Engenharia de Requisitos de Ambientes Virtuais, in Proc. Workshop em Engenharia de Requisitos (WER), Dec. 2004, pp. 263–273.
M. P. Guimaraes, V. F. Martins, C. Kirner, M. A. Eliseo, and A. L. S. Kawamoto, Estabelecimento de Requisitos para Aplicacoes de Realidade Aumentada, Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao, no. E17, pp. 463–475, 2019.
I. F. Silveira, A. Cardoso, and V. F. Martins, Simulation in education and training From virtual reality to digital twins, in Proc. Int. Conf. Latin American Learning Technologies (LACLO 2024), Bogota, 2025. Cham Springer. Available [link]
V. F. Martins, J. E. C. Bachmann, A. Cardoso, and I. F. Silveira, A three-tiered architectural model for Digital Twins in Education, in Workshop em Modelagem e Simulacao de Sistemas Intensivos em Software (MSSiS), SBC, Sept. 2024, pp. 68–77.
R. Kalawsky, The science of virtual reality and virtual environments. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co. Inc. 1993.
R. Stuart, The design of virtual environments. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1996.
N. Chong et al. An Empathetic Approach to Human-Centric Requirements Engineering Using Virtual Reality, in Proc. 2023 IEEE 47th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), 2023, pp. 1717–1724.
M. D. P. Guimaraes and V. F. Martins, A checklist to evaluate augmented reality applications, in Proc. XVI Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality (SVR), May 2014, pp. 45–52.
I. Borsting, M. Heikamp, M. Hesenius, W. Koop, and V. Gruhn, Software engineering for augmented reality—a research agenda, Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. vol. 6, no. EICS, pp. 1–34, 2022.
M. Zalake, A. Gomes de Siqueira, K. Vaddiparti, and B. Lok, The effects of virtual humans verbal persuasion strategies on user intention and behavior, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, vol. 156, p. 102708, 2021.
I. F. Silveira, A. Cardoso, and V. F. Martins, Aplicacoes, desafios e limitacoes dos Digital Twins na America Latina, in Anais do Congresso Latino-Americano de Software Livre e Tecnologias Abertas (Latinoware), Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, 2024, pp. 1–9.
J. Moyne et al. A requirements driven digital twin framework Specification and opportunities, IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 107781–107801, 2020. Available [link]
L. F. C. Durao, S. Haag, R. Anderl, K. Schutzer, and E. Zancul, Digital twin requirements in the context of Industry 4.0, in Proc. 15th IFIP WG 5.1 Int. Conf. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM 2018), Turin, Italy, 2018, pp. 204–214.
H. Boyes and T. Watson, Digital twins An analysis framework and open issues, Computers in Industry, vol. 143, art. 103763, pp. 1–13, 2022. Available [link]
W. N. Robinson, S. D. Pawlowski, and V. Volkov, Requirements interaction management, ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 132–190, 2003.
A. Nazir, A. Raana, and N. Majeed, Highlighting the role of Requirement Engineering and User Experience Design in Product Development Life Cycle, Int. J. Modern Education and Computer Science, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 34–41, 2014.
M. P. Guimaraes, V. F. Martins, C. Kirner, M. A. Eliseo, and A. L. S. Kawamoto, Estabelecimento de Requisitos para Aplicacoes de Realidade Aumentada, Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao, no. E17, pp. 463–475, 2019.
NASA - National Research Council et al. NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities Restoring NASAs Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space. Washington, DC National Academies Press, 2012.
A. G. de Siqueira, A. Cardoso, V. F. Martins, and I. F. Silveira, From Virtual Reality to Digital Twins The Long and Winding Road!, in Proc. Simposio de Realidade Virtual e Aumentada (SVR), SBC, Sept. 2024, pp. 73–77.
S. Zacher, Digital twins for education and study of engineering sciences, Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol. vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 61–69, 2020.
Z. Nazari and P. Musilek, Impact of digital transformation on the energy sector A review, Algorithms, vol. 16, no. 4, art. 211, 2023.
M. Mashaly, Connecting the twins A review on digital twin technology & its networking requirements, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 184, pp. 299–305, 2021.
A. Khodadadi and S. Lazarova-Molnar, Essential data requirements for industrial energy-efficiency with digital twins A case-study analysis, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 238, pp. 631–638, 2024. Available [link]
R. Carvalho and A. R. da Silva, Sustainability requirements of digital-twin-based systems A meta systematic literature review, Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 12, art. 5519, pp. 1–19, 2021. Available [link]
J. Jorgensen, M. Hodkiewicz, E. Cripps, and G. M. Hassan, Requirements for the application of the Digital Twin Paradigm to offshore wind turbine structures for uncertain fatigue analysis, Computers in Industry, vol. 145, art. 103806, 2023.
T. G. Kirner and V. F. M. Salvador, Contribuicao a Engenharia de Requisitos de Ambientes Virtuais, in Proc. Workshop em Engenharia de Requisitos (WER), Dec. 2004, pp. 263–273.
M. P. Guimaraes, V. F. Martins, C. Kirner, M. A. Eliseo, and A. L. S. Kawamoto, Estabelecimento de Requisitos para Aplicacoes de Realidade Aumentada, Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao, no. E17, pp. 463–475, 2019.
I. F. Silveira, A. Cardoso, and V. F. Martins, Simulation in education and training From virtual reality to digital twins, in Proc. Int. Conf. Latin American Learning Technologies (LACLO 2024), Bogota, 2025. Cham Springer. Available [link]
V. F. Martins, J. E. C. Bachmann, A. Cardoso, and I. F. Silveira, A three-tiered architectural model for Digital Twins in Education, in Workshop em Modelagem e Simulacao de Sistemas Intensivos em Software (MSSiS), SBC, Sept. 2024, pp. 68–77.
R. Kalawsky, The science of virtual reality and virtual environments. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co. Inc. 1993.
R. Stuart, The design of virtual environments. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1996.
N. Chong et al. An Empathetic Approach to Human-Centric Requirements Engineering Using Virtual Reality, in Proc. 2023 IEEE 47th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), 2023, pp. 1717–1724.
M. D. P. Guimaraes and V. F. Martins, A checklist to evaluate augmented reality applications, in Proc. XVI Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality (SVR), May 2014, pp. 45–52.
I. Borsting, M. Heikamp, M. Hesenius, W. Koop, and V. Gruhn, Software engineering for augmented reality—a research agenda, Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. vol. 6, no. EICS, pp. 1–34, 2022.
M. Zalake, A. Gomes de Siqueira, K. Vaddiparti, and B. Lok, The effects of virtual humans verbal persuasion strategies on user intention and behavior, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, vol. 156, p. 102708, 2021.
Publicado
30/09/2025
Como Citar
CORREIA, Daniel Mangabeira; MARTINS, Valeria Farinazzo; SILVEIRA, Ismar Frango.
A Three-Tiered Model for Requirements in Digital Twin Architectures: Data, Intelligence and Interaction. In: SIMPÓSIO DE REALIDADE VIRTUAL E AUMENTADA (SVR), 27. , 2025, Salvador/BA.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 206-213.
