Exploring human-machine collaboration in industry: a systematic literature review of digital twin and robotics interfaced with extended reality technologies

This systematic literature review presents the latest advancements and insights about digital twin technology and robotics interfaced with extended reality in the context of Industry 4.0. As the extended reality technologies emerge, it results in an increasing overlap between digital twins and human-robot interactions in industrial settings, promoting collaboration between operators and cobots in manufacturing environments. The objective of this study is to serve as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working in the field of Industry 4.0. It aims to highlight the latest developments and innovations in the application of digital twins and robotics interfaced with extended reality technologies in manufacturing. By extracting data from relevant articles, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state-of-the-art in this field by: analyzing the favored extended reality interfaces for digital twin and robotics interactions; analyzing the digital twin and physical twin interaction; evaluating the digital twin application levels and pillars through extended reality interfacing; and introducing a new concept called augmented perception for creating new physical-digital interactions.