What is digital twin technology and digital twin development?
Digital Twin Technology
is transforming industries across the world. The idea is to create digital replicas of existing objects, software, and systems of an organization to evaluate their performance. These virtual replicas are referred to as digital twins. The purpose of digital twin technology is to simulate, analyze and optimize various aspects of a physical object or a system in an organization. It helps in improving the performance, efficiency and decision-making related to the original product or process.
From manufacturing to healthcare and smart cities to energy sectors, digital twins revolutionized the way how businesses use technology for innovation and operational efficiency.
The term ‘digital twin’ was coined by John Vickers of NASA in a 2010 roadmap report. The global digital twin market size is expected to grow at a compound (CAGR) of 35.7% from 2024 to 2030.
The most important characteristic of digital twin technology is connectivity. The latest developments in IoT (Internet of Things) brought several other new technologies together. The connection is created with the help of sensors. The sensor on a physical component transform data to counterparts by communicating through various integration of technologies. Without connectivity, digital twin technology is not possible.
Digital Twin Development
includes various processes and brings together multiple technologies to ensure accuracy and also compatibility with its real-world counterpart. Digital twins are created with the help of real time data obtained from physical objects or components.
Technologies needed for Digital Twin Development:
IoT (Internet of Things): IoT devices are connected to a network where data is transferred from physical components to digital twins with the help of the internet.
Cloud Computing: The data generated by digital twins is stored, processed and managed on the cloud. It also helps with scalability.
Data Analytics: It gathers and analyzes the data from huge data sets generated by digital twins to provide insights and predictive maintenance.
AI and ML: Machine learning algorithms learn from data sets provided by digital twins and identify the patterns to make predictions. AI automates the process for real time response.
3D Modelling and Simulation: Creates the digital replica of the physical counterpart and simulates it by using real-time data analysis.
Edge computing: It allows digital replicas to obtain data from the closest proximity of the physical component or device by using the sensors. It reduces the turnaround time between data center and physical object.
Digital twin development requires professionals including data scientists, system engineers and domain experts. They ensure data accuracy and tackle any technical or operational issues. Usually, a project manager oversees the entire development process in an organization to make sure the product meets the business objectives.
Advantages of Digital Twin Technology:
There are many advantages of using digital twin technology. They identify faults on the physical counterpart and suggest improvements using machine learning and data analytics. It helps in making the right decisions about maintenance and lifecycle, improving the sustainability of the products.
Reduce Downtime: Digital twins with the help of real-time data deals with issues as they occur. This takes less time to fix issues and make improvements on the go.
Predictive Capabilities: Digital twins provide you the virtual representation or a blueprint of a manufacturing unit, factory or a system. They capture the outputs and find faults in system with the help of sensors. It helps you identify the issues in the process.
Remote Monitoring: As digital twins are the virtual replicas of real-world counterparts, one can monitor and operate them remotely.
Which Industries use Digital Twin Technology?
Digital twin technology is spreading across various industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, construction and energy sectors.
Construction: Project managers at construction sites provide the digital view of the project to the customers and show them progress from time to time. Architects also use digital twins as a part of their project by combining 3D modelling.
Manufacturing: Digital twin prototypes are used to monitor and see how the equipment’s are working.
Energy: Digital twin models are used in the energy sector for supporting the project management and monitoring the lifecycle of existing infrastructure. By using digital replicas, energy companies can make accurate decisions, enhance operational efficiency and reduce downtime.
Automotive: Digital twins are used as virtual replicas of a vehicle. It helps engineers to understand the physical behavior of a vehicle. It also helps in analyzing the software and electrical models. They send alerts to service centers and users when an issue is detected.
Healthcare: Digital models are useful in various instances. They help study and understand the functioning of the human body and organs.
Digital Twin Regulation and Industry Standards:
Digital Twin execution is subjected to certain regulations and expected to meet some industry standards. They vary by industry.
ISO 23247: It is a framework to be followed for developing digital twins in the manufacturing industry.
Cybersecurity Standards: Digital twins produce and exchange vast amounts of data which makes them adhere to data privacy and cybersecurity standards like GDPR (in Europe) or industry-specific guidelines like HIPAA for healthcare.
Industry-Specific Standards: Industries like Aviation, Automotive, Energy, and healthcare may have their unique standards that digital twin solutions must meet for safety, security and reliability.
IoT Standards: Data, resource description, architecture, digital twin elements, smart contracts and timelines are some IoT standards and considerations for digital twin development.
Which companies provide Digital Twin Development Services?
Many IT, Digital engineering and consulting companies provide digital twin development services across various industries like manufacturing, construction, healthcare, energy sector etc.
Tek Leaders is a global digital engineering company with clients across the world.