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Towards the Human Digital Twin: Definition and Design -- A survey

Martin Wolfgang Lauer-Schmaltz, Philip Cash, John Paulin Hansen, Anja Maier

TL;DR

This paper addresses the ambiguity surrounding Human Digital Twins (HDTs) by proposing the first cross-domain definition and a structured framework. It conducts a systematic literature review across 2049 papers, selecting 70 relevant articles to distill HDT characteristics, categories, challenges, and design considerations. Key contributions include a cross-domain HDT definition, 14 identified challenges, 11 design considerations, and a conceptual HDT framework that highlights how HDTs extend traditional Digital Twins with human-centric factors. The work provides theoretical and practical guidance for researchers and developers, and it calls for standards, domain-specific validation, and ethical guidelines to ensure trustworthy and equitable HDT deployments.

Abstract

Human Digital Twins (HDTs) are a fast-emerging technology with significant potential in fields ranging from healthcare to sports. HDTs extend the traditional understanding of Digital Twins by representing humans as the underlying physical entity. This has introduced several significant challenges, including ambiguity in the definition of HDTs and a lack of guidance for their design. This survey brings together the recent advances in the field of HDTs to guide future developers by proposing a first cross-domain definition of HDTs based on their characteristics, as well as eleven key design considerations that emerge from the associated challenges.

Towards the Human Digital Twin: Definition and Design -- A survey

TL;DR

This paper addresses the ambiguity surrounding Human Digital Twins (HDTs) by proposing the first cross-domain definition and a structured framework. It conducts a systematic literature review across 2049 papers, selecting 70 relevant articles to distill HDT characteristics, categories, challenges, and design considerations. Key contributions include a cross-domain HDT definition, 14 identified challenges, 11 design considerations, and a conceptual HDT framework that highlights how HDTs extend traditional Digital Twins with human-centric factors. The work provides theoretical and practical guidance for researchers and developers, and it calls for standards, domain-specific validation, and ethical guidelines to ensure trustworthy and equitable HDT deployments.

Abstract

Human Digital Twins (HDTs) are a fast-emerging technology with significant potential in fields ranging from healthcare to sports. HDTs extend the traditional understanding of Digital Twins by representing humans as the underlying physical entity. This has introduced several significant challenges, including ambiguity in the definition of HDTs and a lack of guidance for their design. This survey brings together the recent advances in the field of HDTs to guide future developers by proposing a first cross-domain definition of HDTs based on their characteristics, as well as eleven key design considerations that emerge from the associated challenges.
Paper Structure (23 sections, 8 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 23 sections, 8 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Digital Twin
  3. Definition and Characteristics
  4. Application Fields
  5. Architecture and Enabling Technologies
  6. Methodology
  7. Human Digital Twin - Definitions, Categorization, and Emerging Challenges
  8. Definition and Categorization
  9. Emerging Challenges
  10. Technical Conceptualization
  11. Perception and Acceptance
  12. Ethics
  13. Discussion and Implications
  14. Definition of Human Digital Twins
  15. Challenges of Human Digital Twins
  16. ...and 8 more sections

Figures (8)

  • Figure 1: Comparison of the three digital concepts for digitally representing a physical entity. The concepts differ in the development of the connecting data thread.
  • Figure 2: Typical Digital Twin framework in conventional application domains. The physical object is monitored using sensors, a continuously updated digital representation is stored using a database, simulations based on Artificial Intelligence are performed and corresponding feedback is provided to the physical world.
  • Figure 3: PRISMA diagram summarising the systematic literature review of Human Digital Twins.
  • Figure 4: Distribution of publications relevant to the field of Human Digital Twins by year.
  • Figure 5: Distribution of publications relevant to Human Digital Twins across domains.
  • ...and 3 more figures