A Doctrinal Reconstruction of Engineering Informatics: Data Pipelines, Digital Twins, and Decision Authority in Cyber-Physical Systems
Keywords:
Cyber-Physical Systems, Data Provenance, Digital Twins, Engineering Data Pipelines, Informatics Methods, Intelligent OperationsAbstract
Engineering informatics is equipped with a variety of technologies including data pipelines, digital twins, cyber-physical loops, and operational analytics; however, there is an absence of a clear theoretical understanding in regard to how all these technologies collectively create reliable engineering knowledge. This paper provides a framework for the above area of study through identifying four classes of problems in the field: data pipelines, digital twins and cyber-physical systems, intelligent operations, and informatics methods. A doctrinal methodology was developed based on primary-instrument analysis, which viewed foundational literature, reference architectures, and international standards as mutually influencing resources rather than simply a collection of technologies. The central artifact of the field is not any singular model or algorithm but the traceable path from sensor evidence to decision authority. Four doctrinal tests were formulated: provenance continuity, semantic interoperability, twin fidelity with declared uncertainty, and contestable operational authority. These tests created a Traceable Engineering Knowledge Cycle that connects acquisition, representation, synchrony, decision, actuation and audit. The paper also addresses why technologically advanced systems may still fail as engineering knowledge systems and creates a research agenda for pipeline, twin and intelligent operation technologies that remain verifiable by industrial, safety and organisational constraints.
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