From users to co-creators: research on the role translation mechanism of prosumers driven by digital twins

In the era of artificial intelligence and the digital economy, users are transitioning from passive product consumers to active value co-creators. As a core technology bridging the physical world and digital space, digital twins provide a novel enabling pathway for this shift in the role of "prosumers". This paper aims to explore how digital twins facilitate the transformation of users from traditional consumers into co-creators within the design process. Through a review of the literature, this study constructs an intervention framework for digital twins applicable to the conceptual design phase of products. Furthermore, a detailed workshop research plan is proposed, which employs a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to systematically investigate how digital twin environments specifically translate user roles and foster co-creative behaviors across three core stages:requirement definition, concept divergence, and concept testing. The paper elaborates on the workshop design, participant recruitment, task procedures, and data analysis methods, thereby revealing the mechanism of digital twin-driven role translation. The findings are intended to provide a concrete theoretical model and practical guidance for enhancing the efficiency of conceptual design and establishing a new human-machine collaborative co-creation paradigm.