Digital Twin

The term digital twin has been around since 2002 but it is gaining importance because of widespread interest in internet of things. IP activity around digital twin started to show up from 2000 but the rise can be seen since last 3 years. This indicates this technology will continue to see more research activity in future.

Digital twin is digital replica of physical assets, processes and systems. Digital twins integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and software analytics with data to create living digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change.

Digital twin acts a bridge between the physical and digital world. Data gathered using sensors is integrated with a physical component. This data is combined with historical data, contextual data and human expertise to create living digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change.

This technology relates to controlling a system, working with operational data and is used in sectors like power generation, aerospace, locomotives, construction, healthcare, smart cities projects, engineering processes like Intelligent Maintenance Systems, Prognostics.

Companies like GE and Siemens have research activity around this technology with GE primarily focusing on wind energy and Siemens showing interest in business modeling and communication applications.

To summarize, “Digital twins are becoming a business imperative, covering the entire life cycle of an asset or process and forming the foundation for connected products and services. Companies that fail to respond will be left behind.”  - Thomas Kaiser