Digital Twin Enabled Mass Personalization: A Case Study of a Smart Wetland Maintenance System

Abstract Mass personalization has been an essential paradigm in the Industry 4.0 era. Mass personalization has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of industries. There is a recognized need for a cost-effective approach for dealing with a high number of unique products and services. There has been substantial research undertaken on the role of Industry 4.0 for mass customization. The contribution of Digital Twin (DT) has received little attention within mass personalization. No known empirical research has focused on exploring relationships between DT and mass personalization. The principal objective of this project was to utilize DT for a significant number of unique wetlands. In this study, a Digital Twin architecture was developed and applied to address challenges in regards to a massive number of distinct wetlands. This study is based on an industry-led case with significant value, including scheduled maintenance, real-time monitoring, remote controlling, and predicting functionalities. The findings indicated that there was a positive relationship between Digital Twin capabilities and mass personalization. The present results highlight the detrimental value that Digital Twin has on mass personalization. The results represent a further step towards developing Digital Twin research and development.