According to a white paper presented by Eclass e.V, the company wants to use the IOTA platform for establishing a distributed ledger-based infrastructure. The white paper described that this new infrastructure will help in promoting the growth of industrial digital twins. The new ECLASS platform is a decentralized one, which is based on five use cases. These are practice-relevant use cases, which highlight how the decentralized registry can be implemented and applied in practice. The purpose of the use case is to show how it is possible to register Digital Twins and other related services and can be accessed by users in different lifecycle stages.
Furthermore, the use case also highlights how linking industrial asset users is possible with numerous Digital Twins. It also indicates how the unique asset ID can be used for locating the Digital Twins. The ECLASS scheme can also make use of the IOTA second layer solution, which include IOTA Access and IOTA Identity. The ECLASS standard was mentioned in the whitepaper as very important when it comes to detailing the features and services of the certifications of authorization and qualification of Digital Twins. According to the whitepaper, it will help in achieving a major breakthrough when it comes to the future of the global Industrie 4.0 ecosystem.
It also highlighted the challenges in various areas, such as energy, retail, logistics, and automotive, which are also focused on the Industrie 4.0 requirements. Digital Twin has been referred to as the technology that will help in enhancing networking, horizontal integration, and digitalization. It is possible to apply the technology in a variety of areas, which include production, logistics, engineering, and purchasing as well. As per the whitepaper, it will be helpful in creating new opportunities and a business model in various ways that haven’t been seen before.
The announcement also said that classic value chains were increasingly being transformed into interconnected value networks and improved Cyber-Physical-Systems (CPS) could be created with the help of the Digital Twin framework. Machines, products, and processes will all have their Digital Twins, which will then use the combo of their physical assets and Digital Twins for creating a CPS. During this entire lifecycle, the relevant product information and production data provided in the Digital Twin will be provided to all partners involved in the value chain at any given time and place. They will not have a problem in gaining access to it, as per their convenience.
The Digital Twins will basically work in the information world as the real world’s digital representation. However, the necessary horizontal and vertical integration, along with collaboration with all the participants would be possible in accordance with common standards. The company also announced that it will require participants from all countries, continents and company boundaries to work in a partnership for it to be able to function properly. Whether they are able to achieve their goal or not, remains to be seen. Time will tell how the new DLT-based infrastructure will work out and if it will be beneficial or not.
