Digital Twin

Have you guys ever wondered what would happen if an object or any item has a digital twin???

okay first before diving into the above question, first let's know about what digital twin is and how many industries are using it now??

Digital twin is nothing but a virtual representation of a real physical object designed to reflect that physical object accurately. Now, you might be wondering how this digital twin differs from simulation. 

In simulation the data is entered manually, where as in digital twin we get the required data from sensors and send the insights we get from digital twin back to the outside source object. Therefore the digital twin is far more accurate than simulation. digital twin gets updated with real data and uses simulation, machine learning to predict the insights.

There are different types of Digital twin:

  • Component twins or parts twin: Components are the smallest parts of a functioning component. This component twin is a basic unit of digital twin. parts twins is similar, but to components of slightly less component
  • Asset twins: Two or more components form an asset. Asset twin is the study of the interaction between those components which creates data that can be processed and turned into actionable insights.
  • System or unit twins: They help us study how group of assets come together to form an entire functioning system. They provide visibility regarding the interaction of various assets ans suggest some enhancements
  • Process twins: It is a macro level magnification. It reveals how systems work together to create an entire production facility. These process twins help in determining the precise timing schemes that ultimately influence overall effectiveness. 
Google maps are considered as digital twin of the Earth's surface. Communities like Sweden's Gothenburg and Galvest on Island, Texas are developing digital twins to prep for impacts of climate change. where as industries like defence, aerospace, automotive, and semiconductors have been refining digital twin for decades. Consumer electronics manufacturers have made significant improvements to sustainability by using digital twins and reducing scrap waste by roughly 20 percent.

There is also Supply chain digital twin which is a detailed simulation model of an actual supply chain which uses real-time data and snapshots of forecast supply chain dynamics. it can help organisations balance cost and speed with increased sustainability and also give organisations more visibility into upstream suppliers sustainability.

These are helpful in improving sustainability efforts. product digital twins can help organisations reduce the material used in a product's design, as well as improve the traceability of a product to reduce environmental waste.  Manufacturers these ays are using digital twins to improve efficiency and reduce wastage and pollution.

The connection between the entity and the digital twin are most ofter IoT(Internet of Things) sensors, and good implementation of IoT plays a major role in working with digital twin. 

Industries that uses Digital twin:

  • Automobile manufacturing
  • Aerospace
  • Defense
  • Retail
  • Healthcare
  • power utilities
  • Manufacturing
Benefits of using Digital twin:
  • Improved performance: Real-time information and insights provided by digital twin helps in optimising the performance of equipment, plant or facilities.
  • Predictive capabilities: Helps in taking action at first sign of problems rather than waiting until equipment completely breaks down.
  • Remote monitoring: Virtual nature, thereby can be monitored/ accessed remotely 
  • Accelerated production time: accelerate the production time by building the corresponding digital twins before the original one's exist
  • Better R&D: Digital twins reduce the cost because here in digital twin we dont have to physically build anything. so even if there are any issues with the design or implementation we can rectify easily in digital twin.
Challenges faced by using Digital twin:
  • Data Management
  • Data Security
  • IoT development, etc
Ongoing projects in digital twin:

  • Emirates Team New Zealand: A digital twin of sailing environments, boats, and crew members enables Emirates Team New Zealand to test boat designs without actually building them. This has allowed the champion sailing team to evaluate thousands, rather than just hundreds of hydrofoli designs
  • Anheuser-Buusch InBev: A brewing and supply chain digital twin enables brewers to adjust inputs based on active conditions and can automatically compensate for production bottlenecks.
  • SoFi Stadium: To help optimise stadium management and operations, a digital twin aggregates multiple data sources including information about the stadium's structure and real-time football data.
  • Space Force: This branch of US  Armed Forces is creating a digital twin of space, including replicas of extraterrestrial bodies and satellites.
  • SpaceX: A digital twin of SpaceX's Dragon capsules spacecraft enables operators to monitor and adjust trajectories, loads, and propulsion systems with the goal of maximising safety and reliability during transport. 

Fun fact: Mercedes-Benz (formerly Daimler) has developed customer twins that allow customers to "test drive" a vehicle without ever getting behind the wheel.










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