A modular Unity-PLC architecture for industrial digital twins
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2026.47.13874Keywords:
Digital twin, Industrial automation, PLC, Unity, S7.NetPlus, SimulationAbstract
This paper presents a modular architecture for developing industrial digital twins in Unity connected to Siemens PLCs through S7.NetPlus. The proposal is validated on a Fischertechnik training plant composed of a conveyor belt and a die cutter, controlled by a Siemens S7-1200 PLC. The system structures communication into layers: HMI interfaces, virtual sensors, actuators, a shared input/output block and a central PLC exchange module. This separation makes it possible to add sensors, motors, limit switches or interface elements without rewriting the communication logic. The digital twin supports three operating modes: full simulation, synchronized plant control and direct supervision of physical actuators. Besides its value as a test bench, the application has been used to design automation laboratory exercises with increasing difficulty, combining TIA Portal programming, virtual validation and execution on the physical training plant.
References
Abele, E., Chryssolouris, G., Sihn, W., Metternich, J., El Maraghy, H., Seliger, G., Sivard, G., El Maraghy, W., Hummel, V., Tisch, M., Seifermann, S., 2017. Learning factories for future oriented research and education in manufacturing. CIRP Annals 66 (2), 803–826. DOI: 10.1016/j.cirp.2017.05.005
Balla, M., Haffner, O., Kučera, E., Cigánek, J., 2023. Educational case studies: Creating a digital twin of the production line in tia portal, unity, and game4automation framework. Sensors 23 (10), 4977. DOI: 10.3390/s23104977
Fischertechnik, 2026. Training models for automation. https://www.fischertechnik.de/, accedido: 2026-06-06.
Kritzinger, W., Karner, M., Traar, G., Henjes, J., Sihn, W., 2018. Digital twin in manufacturing: A categorical literature review and classification. IFACPapersOnLine 51 (11), 1016–1022. DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08.474
Masaev, S., Minkin, A., Troyak, E., Khrulkevich, A., 2024. Digital twin in advanced training of engineering specialists. arXiv:2412.13429. URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.13429
S7NetPlus, 2026. S7.net plus. https://github.com/S7NetPlus/s7netplus, accedido: 2026-06-06.
Wang, H., Yang, Z., Zhang, Q., Sun, Q., Lim, E., 2024. A digital twin platform integrating process parameter simulation solution for intelligent manufacturing. Electronics 13 (4), 802. DOI: 10.3390/electronics13040802
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Emiliano Pérez, María La Calle, Pilar Merchán, Santiago Salamanca
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
