Real-Time Digital Twin Platform: A Case Study on Core Network Selection in Aeronautical Ad-Hoc Networks

TL;DR

This paper presents a real-time digital twin platform tailored for aeronautical ad-hoc networks, enabling dynamic core network selection with a microservice architecture and real-time data processing.

Contribution

It introduces a novel open-source platform with real-time capabilities and a microservice architecture for digital twins in aeronautical networks, addressing validation limitations.

Findings

Supports real-time decision-making despite data retrieval failures

Implements a microservice-based architecture for digital twins

Provides an interactive user interface for network management

Abstract

The development of Digital Twins (DTs) is hindered by a lack of specialized, open-source solutions that can meet the demands of dynamic applications. This has caused state-of-the-art DT applications to be validated using offline data. However, this approach falls short of integrating real-time data, which is one of the most important characteristics of DTs. This can limit the validating effectiveness of DT applications in cases such as aeronautical ad-hoc networks (AANETs). Considering this, we develop a Real-Time Digital Twin Platform and implement core network selection in AANETs as a case study. In this, we implement microservice-based architecture and design a robust data pipeline. Additionally, we develop an interactive user interface using open-source tools. Using this, the platform supports real-time decision-making in the presence of data retrieval failures.