Towards human digital twin: Reviewing human modelling and simulation

ES Zhu and S Yang, JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION INTEGRATION, 48, 100975 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jii.2025.100975

The human digital twin (HDT) is a detailed and personalized digital representation of an individual, encompassing the physical, cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics. HDT, an extension of the traditional digital twin concept from the industrial engineering sector, finds applications in diverse human-centric sectors such as smart manufacturing, medical healthcare, personal fitness, and autonomous driving. Although human modelling and simulation (HMS) are essential for advancing HDT technology, existing literature reviews primarily emphasize general aspects, including the definition, hierarchical frameworks, and various applications of HDT, rather than providing a thorough overview of HMS methods and tools. To fill the gap, this review work is specifically focused on the HMS aspect in HDT, discussing the evolution of digital human simulation, HDT information models, HDT metamodels, and related tools and software. This study also provides a checklist on building the HDT metamodel from the collected human data.

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