Introducing the Technological Trend
The ongoing technological revolution denotes an increasing role of automation and digitalization of traditional engineering and modeling tools. In turn, the latest innovations have introduced an advanced approach to creating a virtual environment or models, which is known as digital twins. The US administration has actively invested $280 million into the development of digital twin technology, and this technology is highly relevant in the manufacturing of semiconductors. This case demonstrates how the implementation of the latest simulation inventions has a decisive impact on the national economy as this decision aims to reduce the US dependence on Asian, especially Chinese, manufacturers. Thus, the concept of digital twins has a critical impact on planning and forecasting.
Digital Twins: Not Just Another Tech Hype
Experts projected a tremendous increase in digital twin demand, expecting billions of dollars in investments over the next five years. Moreover, recent investments have surpassed $50 billion, while GlobalLogic estimates a 300% increase in investment capitalization. It is reasonable to acknowledge that this tremendous growth requires additional analysis to understand the reasons behind the development of this technology.
Defining Digital Twins
The simplest illustration of how digital twins function is by creating a social media profile of a distinct person. This page contains all important information, including personal and professional backgrounds, which is comparable to the features of simulated objects in digital twins technology. Therefore, digital twins aim to recreate a digital copy with a comprehensive description of its values and characteristics.
Why This Technology Matters
With the power of AI and automation, digital twins allow users to simulate different scenarios and events by inputting the required data. Moreover, it is possible to train these virtual models, thereby creating new hypothetical events to understand how the model will react to changes. Digital twins can recreate a house to test its durability during hazards or environmental impacts. This innovative modeling is a cost-effective solution to traditional modeling and testing, while the latest version of the technology further minimizes human errors and increases the accuracy of results.
How to Develop and Implement the Technology
Based on mathematical modeling, digital modeling further embeds computational simulations to recreate virtual environments and objects within the system. This technology, in turn, utilizes machine learning and AI as part of predictive analytics, significantly improving the accuracy of virtual representations of physical objects. The data source also plays a decisive role in testing and improving the simulation process. However, with the rise of IoT and big data, machines can process and update information in real time, enhancing simulations.
Digital Twins vs. Traditional Simulations
Traditional simulations did not include the aforementioned innovations in testing the environments. For instance, digital twins can recreate a scenario where multiple processes impact the physical object in real time. Traditional simulations could test only a single process with moderate accuracy since the model utilized static data and environment in the mathematical model. Moreover, it was a costly and time-consuming process that had a limited visualization of recreated scenarios. Compared to traditional methods, digital twins can simulate a house during a thunderstorm, where users can observe changes in the house’s properties caused by extensive rain and wind.
Industries that Actively Use Digital Twins
Digital twins are highly relevant in industries that require the development of complex and high-budget projects. In turn, these developments also operate in dynamic environments, which require the advanced solutions provided by this technology. These industries are:
- Construction and infrastructure development.
- Energy and utilities.
- Vehicle and aircraft manufacturing.
- Industrial equipment development.
Nevertheless, the increasing demand for these solutions implies that small and medium businesses will actively use them to improve the product development process.
Renown Service Providers
Oracle Digital Twin, Siemens Digital Industries Software, and IBM Watson IoT Platform are major competitors in digital twins development that introduce their cloud-based solutions to businesses. These providers continuously diversify their services while exploiting the potential of current AI developments through their active integration into digital simulations. However, the leading brands in the market include:
- General Electric – Predix Operations Performance Management (Predix OPM) is their top-selling product. This brand offers its services with all essential features, including real-time data insights with AI-driven analytics, to improve the performance and quality of projects.
- Azure – Microsoft introduced this solution by merging cloud technologies and latest analytical tools. This platform seamlessly integrates with Azure Stream Analytics, Azure AI, Azure Maps, Azure Storage, Microsoft Mixed Reality, Office 365 і Dynamics 365 to create the digital simulation of objects and environments.
These tools empower manufacturers and enterprises by exploiting the power of AI and cloud technologies to simulate their objects in real time. These cost-effective solutions for businesses also set new quality standards for industries, allowing entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves from competitors in dynamic markets. With the rise of big data, the implementation of digital twins in fundamental engineering processes can predetermine the project’s success.
Successful Cases of Digital Twins Adoption
Emirates Team New Zealand
There are different examples of how digital twins can modernize organizations. Emirates Team New Zealand uses digital simulations to test their boat structures by recreating different scenarios. This company saved resources and time without compromising the quality of prototypes, where digital twins allowed the Emirates Team to minimize the costs of testing their analogs in real environments.
NFL
SoFi Stadium administration uses digital twins to test the construction’s safety and durability. This proactive maintenance can prevent emergencies and minimize risks to visitors’ well-being. NFL also exploits Amazon Web Services (AWS) to improve players’ safety by simulating different scenarios that lead to injuries, thereby preventing such incidents.
Anheuser-Busch InBev
This manufacturer uses digital twins to create clones of their breweries. By utilizing IoT sensors, the company can test the quality of beer production processes. Additionally, it is an excellent example of how enterprises can monitor all essential operations in real time to make the necessary adjustments.
Final Thoughts: The Future of Digital Twins
Arguably, with the current rise of AI and machine learning, this technology will extend the user’s autonomy. The future simulations will increase the quality and accuracy of recreated objects in digital environments. According to Markets and Research, 91% of IoT platforms will embed digital twins by 2026, and this technology will become a universal industry standard by 2028.
