Towards the Development of Digital Twins for the Bio-manufacturing Industry

The bio-manufacturing industry, along with other process industries, now has the opportunity to be engaged in the latest industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. To successfully accomplish this, a physical-to-digital-to-physical information loop should be carefully developed. One way to achieve this is, for example, through the implementation of digital twins (DTs), which are virtual copies of the processes. Therefore, in this paper, the focus is on understanding the needs and challenges faced by the bio-manufacturing industry when dealing with this digitalized paradigm. To do so, two major building blocks of a DT, data and models, are highlighted and discussed. Hence, firstly, data and their characteristics and collection strategies are examined as well as new methods and tools for data processing. Secondly, modelling approaches and their potential of being used in DTs are reviewed. Finally, we share our vision with regard to the use of DTs in the bio-manufacturing industry aiming at bringing the DT a step closer to its full potential and realization.