Engineering a Digital Twin for the Monitoring and Control of Beer Fermentation Sampling

TL;DR

This paper details the development of a safety-critical digital twin for beer fermentation, significantly reducing manual sampling and enabling real-time control through a systematic, multi-layered engineering approach.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive methodology for creating interactive, bidirectional digital twins in industrial environments, including safety protocols and hardware-software integration strategies.

Findings

Reduced manual sampling time by 91%

Demonstrated real-time control in pressurized systems

Highlighted safety-first design and simulation-driven development

Abstract

Successfully engineering interactive industrial DTs is a complex task, especially when implementing services beyond passive monitoring. We present here an experience report on engineering a safety-critical digital twin (DT) for beer fermentation monitoring, which provides continual sampling and reduces manual sampling time by 91%. We document our systematic methodology and practical solutions for implementing bidirectional DTs in industrial environments. This includes our three-phase engineering approach that transforms a passive monitoring system into an interactive Type 2 DT with real-time control capabilities for pressurized systems operating at seven bar. We contribute details of multi-layered safety protocols, hardware-software integration strategies across Arduino controllers and Unity visualization, and real-time synchronization solutions. We document specific engineering challenges and solutions spanning interdisciplinary integration, demonstrating how our use of the constellation reporting framework facilitates cross-domain collaboration. Key findings include the critical importance of safety-first design, simulation-driven development, and progressive implementation strategies. Our work thus provides actionable guidance for practitioners developing DTs requiring bidirectional control in safety-critical applications.