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Digital Transformation of Engineering 4.0 and beyond with Model-Based Systems...
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Digital Transformation of Engineering 4.0 and beyond with Model-Based Systems Engineering

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 1151

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Roy Kalawsky

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electric and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Interests: MBSE; digital thread; digital-twins; digital transformation; systems engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The digital transformation of engineering has seen an unprecedented evolution over the past decade. Whilst systems engineering has been the key underlying discipline, the advent of new digital technologies is creating new solutions to address the design and implementation of increasingly complex integrated systems. Model-based systems engineering has emerged as the means to replace conventional document-based methods, with an increasing reliance on models and simulations (also known as digital-twins). Fundamental to this transformation is the requirement to maintain a seamless digital information thread throughout the lifecycle, from the concept through to the design, and the manufacturing to the in-service performance. A significant challenge caused by this increasing interconnectivity and associated complexity is the need for greater multidisciplinary knowledge, both explicit and tacit. Also, the current limitations in interoperability between tools within an MBSE lifecycle have yet to be overcome. New concepts, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, are potentially within reach and may allow us to overcome some of these hurdles. This Special Issue will explore the current and future directions of MBSE as a key enabler for Engineering 4.0 and beyond. Also of interest are the lessons learnt during the adoption of MBSE solutions, as well as where gaps still exist in achieving a seamless digital thread across a product’s lifecycle and adoption within supply chains.

Prof. Dr. Roy Kalawsky
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MBSE
  • digital thread
  • digital-twins
  • digital transformation
  • systems engineering

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

29 pages, 40685 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Visualizing Systems Modeling Language (SysML) Diagrams in the 3D Virtual Reality Environment
by Mostafa Lutfi and Ricardo Valerdi
Systems 2025, 13(4), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13040221 - 23 Mar 2025
Viewed by 384
Abstract
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) prioritizes system design through models rather than documents, and it is implemented with the Systems Modeling Language (SysML), which is the state-of-the-art language in academia and industry. Virtual Reality (VR), an immersive visualization technology, can simulate reality in virtual [...] Read more.
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) prioritizes system design through models rather than documents, and it is implemented with the Systems Modeling Language (SysML), which is the state-of-the-art language in academia and industry. Virtual Reality (VR), an immersive visualization technology, can simulate reality in virtual environments with varying degrees of fidelity. In recent years, the technology industry has invested substantially in the development of head-mounted displays (HMDs) and related virtual reality (VR) technologies. Various research has suggested that VR-based immersive design reviews enhance system issue/fault identification, collaboration, focus, and presence compared to non-immersive approaches. Additionally, several research efforts have demonstrated that the VR environment provides higher understanding and knowledge retention levels than traditional approaches. In recent years, multiple attempts have been made to visualize conventional 2D SysML diagrams in a virtual reality environment. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no empirical evaluation has been performed to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of visualizing SysML diagrams in a VR environment. Hence, the authors aimed to evaluate four key benefit types and drawbacks through experiments with human subjects. The authors chose four benefit types—Systems Understanding, Information Sharing, Modeling and Training Experience, and Digital Twin based on the MBSE value and benefits review performed by researchers and benefits claimed by the evaluations for similar visual formalism languages. Experiments were conducted to compare the understanding, interaction, and knowledge retention for 3D VR and conventional 2D SysML diagrams. The authors chose a ground-based telescope system as the system of interest (SOI) for system modeling. The authors utilized a standalone wireless HMD unit for a virtual reality experience, which enabled experiments to be conducted irrespective of location. Students and experts from multiple disciplines, including systems engineering, participated in the experiment and provided their opinions on the VR SysML implementation. The knowledge test, perceived evaluation results, and post-completion surveys were analyzed to determine whether the 3D VR SysML implementation improved these benefits and identified potential drawbacks. The authors utilized a few VR scenario efficacy measures, namely the Simulation Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and System Usability Scale (SUS), to avoid evaluation design-related anomalies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation of Engineering 4.0 and beyond with Model-Based Systems Engineering)
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