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This repository is part of a research project on blockchain-based Digital Twins:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102425

TheEtherTwin prototype originates from a research approach to share Digital Twin data over its lifecycle.To allow the participation of the multiple lifecycle parties without relying on trusted third parties (TTPs),EtherTwin relies on a distributed approach by integrating theEthereum blockchain and the distributed hash table (DHT)Swarm.On the basis ofAutomationML (AML) files that specify assets, a Digital Twin can be created and shared with the twin's lifecycle parties.TheEtherTwin prototype allows to:

• create Digital Twins
• share each twin
• upload documents
• update twin specification and documents (versioning)
• create sensor data feeds
• control access of users by lifecycle roles and asset attributes
• list asset components (specification parsing)

An exemplary use case is given in the followingvideo. The video is based on a slightly outdated version of EtherTwin, but it illustrates the core functionality well.

Live demo: For a live demonstration of the prototype using a private Ethereum blockchain, visithttp://ethertwin.ur.de/.An Ethereum account will be automatically created for you with the private key stored in your browser's local storage. Before you can issue transactions, you'll need to request some Ether on our test blockchain athttp://ethertwin.ur.de:3333/0x0 (replace 0x0 with your Ethereum account).

npm install

DownloadParity to set up your Ethereum blockchain. Create a foldernetwork, add theparity.exe andpassword.txt.Then run the following console command in thenetwork folder to start your blockchain:

parity --config dev --unlock "0x00a329c0648769a73afac7f9381e08fb43dbea72" --password .\password.txt --unsafe-expose --jsonrpc-cors=all

DownloadSwarm to set up the DHT.Then run the following console command:

swarm --bzzaccount <accountAddress> --config ./config.toml --datadir . --httpaddr=0.0.0.0 --corsdomain '*' --password password.txt```

InstallTruffle to initialize the Smart Contracts:

npm -i truffletruffle migrate --network parity

Addconfig.json with the corresponding values (IP) for the Swarm DHT etc.Note that the values for theregistry andauthorization are optional:

{  "swarm": "http://<IP>:5000",  "ethereum": {    "rpc": "ws://<IP>:8546",    "registry": "<RegistryContractAddress>",    "authorization": "<AuthorizationContractAddress>"  }  "agent_key": "<ethereum private key for device agent>"}

You also need to add an appropriate log file in themisc folder, for example by renaminglogs.xml.example tologs.xml.

Run the device agent

npm run agent

Run the main web app for development with hot reloads

npm run serve

Build static files for deployment

npm run build

An exemplary specification for the twin creation can be found atmisc/CandyFactory.aml, which originates from theCPS Twinning prototype.Various screenshots showing theEtherTwin prototype functionality can be found atmisc/Screenshots. The following screenshot illustrates the Home site of ourEtherTwin prototype - showing all twins of the user.

Please consider citing our publication if you are using ourEtherTwin prototype for your research:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102425

B. Putz, M. Dietz, P. Empl, and G. Pernul, "EtherTwin: Blockchain-based Secure Digital Twin Information Management", Information Processing & Management, vol. 58, no. 1, 2021.