Exploring the suitability of a Digital twin- and eXtended Reality-based telepresence platform for a collaborative robotics training scenario over next-generation mobile networks

Abstract

This paper explores the application of Digital Twins (DTs) and eXtended Reality (XR) in the context of Industry 4.0, and investigates new ways in which these technologies can be used in remote assistance/training scenarios involving Collaborative Robots (CRs). The study builds upon a previous work that examined the suitability of a novel DT/XR-based telepresence platform for CR programming in terms of network capabilities. The present work addresses some of the limitations of the previous study in the context of a new use case, integrating human pose estimation and object tracking to enhance the DT functionalities of the platform, and testing it in a riveting task scenario. The results in terms of bandwidth and latencies obtained in a laboratory setup emulating 6G performance show the potential of DTs and XR in supporting the collaboration of distant human operators and CRs over future mobile networks, paving the way for the development of new services for next-generation industry.