Chancen und Risiken der Produktionsüberwachung mit Digitalen Zwillingen und Virtual Reality

Abstract

This thesis examines the combined application of digital twins and virtual reality (VR) technology for production monitoring in industrial environments. The starting point is the challenge of making complex manufacturing processes transparent, efficient and resilient under Industry 4.0 conditions. The primary objective is to analyse the technical feasibility, as well as the potential opportunities and risks of applying these technologies in practice. A comprehensive state-of-the-art overview is developed based on a systematic literature review, particularly with regard to digital twins, VR systems and their integration with IoT sensor technology. Technical architectures, data infrastructure and visualisation concepts are presented and substantiated with current case studies. The results show that the integration of digital twins and VR offers significant advantages for production monitoring. These include more precise condition monitoring, early detection of anomalies and supported decision-making through immersive representations. The combination of both technologies enables the visualisation of real-time data and increases interaction with complex systems. At the same time, obstacles were identified, including ensuring correct data quality, high technical requirements for system integration, data protection risks and economic barriers to entry. In conclusion, the thesis shows that the fusion of digital twins and VR has high innovation potential for industrial applications. Although the technology still faces challenges, it opens up new possibilities for process optimisation, predictive maintenance and flexible factory control.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Josef Wolfartsberger (Supervisor)