Everything About Digital Twin Technology

Did you know, city of Helsinki has a twin - no, we're not talking about a sister city, we are talking about - a Digital Twin! The Helsinki 3D+ model, as it is called, was made using laser scanning and oblique photogrammetry to capture the city terrain and produce a 3D model of the entire city. Don't worry if you did not understand the mapping techniques used; the only real takeaway here is that you can now visit Helsinki while continuing to be Mr. Couch Potato.


This digital model is open to all - wanna go on a virtual sightseeing tour of Helsinki? Done. Does your firm want to conduct city-wide flood assessment tests? Done. Want to experience the famed Nordic cuisine? Well, sorry, can't help you with that one. What we can certainly help you with is understanding what Digital Twins Technology is. So, let's begin...

What Is Digital Twin Technology?

Digital Twin technology helps create digital models of physical systems or machines. Using these models, we can predict the physical machine's future behavior by running simulations. It can also recreate the physical machine's entire lifecycle, letting us virtually analyze and diagnose problems before they occur in the actual system. As all of this is done on a digital model, it is aptly called Digital Twin Technology. Imagine performing a crash test without destroying an expensive car - or the poor crash test dummy!

Gartner initially put Digital Twin in the spotlight by naming it as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2017 and again as a top trend for 2018. Since then, Digital Twin has weaved itself into several industries - from shipping to manufacturing to healthcare - and will only continue to grow in its reach. Currently, we can create Digital Twin for heavy machinery, factories and even cities. However, some experts believe that the concept can be developed further by creating Digital Twin for people. Talk about having a digital doppelganger!

From Physical To Digital - The Journey Of Digital Twin

Digital Twins have existed since the 1960s but bear little resemblance to modern iteration. In the 60s, NASA used a rudimentary twinning method for space missions - physically replicating systems on Earth to match those in space. Nowadays, thankfully, all twins are digital. For example, in April 1970, when the oxygen tanks of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission capsule exploded, it was only due to its Digital Twin on Earth that NASA engineers could find a quick fix.

Back in the '60s, though, experts considered this tech as a link between physical sensor data and digital data that they captured. Today, Digital Twin have over 21 billion sensors globally and are more than just a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud connectivity have allowed unparalleled large-scale implementation in various domains. Which domains, you ask?

Manufacturing industries use it to predict breakdowns in complex machinery. Healthcare businesses are employing bandage-sized sensors to build Digital Twins of patients. Most F1 race cars have a Digital Twin to assess the real-time engine performance on different racetracks. With so many applications, it might be hard to understand how exactly this tech works. Don't worry; we're here to make it easy for you.

What Happens In Virtual World, Doesn't Stay In Virtual World!

Now, to help you understand what happens in the digital world, let's assume we have the Digital Twin of a jet engine. We are getting detailed, real-time insights from the physical jet engine's sensors every second. It doesn't matter if it's in Hawaii and you're in New York - the Digital Twin is in complete sync with its physical sibling - just like Fred and George Weasley were!

The Digital Twin allows us to track the engine's performance - even when it is in flight - to see whether it's deviating from the expected behavior. Hence, we can make predictions about the lifespan of specific components, which further helps us plan the engine's maintenance schedule. Now, let's say we swap out an element in the engine for a newer one; we can make the exact change in the digital model. That's the power of having a Digital Twin!

A famous example is when Boeing created the Digital Twin of a Boeing 737-800 airliner. Through simulations and digital data analysis, they calculated the optimal cargo load to be (80,000 kg) 88 US tons. At the time, most flights carried significantly lesser cargo but they successfully improved their revenue per flight after this analysis. There are several examples where the Digital Twins has improved business functions or revenue. So, let's look at some of them...

Who Uses Digital Twin Technology?

Simply put, the concept of Digital Twins can be applied to any industry that relies on physical machinery, as machines become less effective over time. However, it can also be applied to non-physical entities. (No, you can't clone a ghost!)

So, here are some businesses that have already integrated "twinning" into their array of business tools.
 

• Manufacturing Industry

  This technology helps manufacturing units optimize their production rate by predicting potential issues that may cause downtime. Bosch has implemented this tech in their factories to get real-time updates on the machines' conditions and alert workers if a bottleneck or breakdown is predicted.Simple yet smart, right?

• Automobile Industry

  Digital Twin can create virtual models of vehicles using data from their sensors. This helps automobile designers analyze vehicle performance, lifecycle behavior and test critical features. An example is the airbag system, where even a few milliseconds of delay in deploying the airbag can prove to be fatal. Our friend, the crash test dummy, is undoubtedly a huge fan of this tech!

• Retail Industry

  With Digital Twin, retail businesses can create accurate virtual replicas of individual customers to make better predictions about their shopping decisions. This twin knows all - how often you go shoe-shopping to which brand of toothpaste you prefer!

• Smart Cities

  The implementation of Digital Twin on a city-wide scale helps identify and manage resources, recognize traffic problems, study the impact on ecologically sensitive areas, etc., which allows city planners to make better decisions. Like Helsinki (not the friendly giant from Money Heist!), various other cities have started implementing this amazing technology.

Why A Digital Twin Is An Absolute Win!

Sure, Digital Twin can save your firm a heck load of money, time and resources but that's not all - there are other advantages to be realized by implementing this tech. Complicated machinery can be modeled and tested digitally before being physically constructed. Thus, engineers can try several methods to fix an issue - even if the issue hasn't occurred yet!

With additional data analytics, Digital Twin can help figure out the best orientation for specific components, where they should be placed and how they should operate before being assembled. This comes in handy for systems deployed in space - unless you have a few million dollars lying around to make a maintenance trip to the International Space Station.

A variation of the Digital Twin, called the Predictive Twin, can model the system's future state and operation based on historical data. Hence, we can simulate breakdowns and other extreme situations that might need immediate attention in the future. Talking about the future, let's check out how Digital Twins might look like in the future.

Warning - Please Put On Sunglasses. The Future Is Bright!

The usage of Digital Twin Technology has grown enormously since the introduction of IoT sensors. These sensors can deliver real-time data about the system's operations and its reaction to the environment. In the future, Digital Twins will be an essential tool for product development and testing. Models will be fed real-time information from sensors and real-time predictions would be possible.

As we advance, humans will also get their Digital Twin, which will collect instantaneous information from wearables (smartwatches and fitness trackers) and using this data, everyone would receive personalized yet cost-effective medical treatment. The virtual model will be able to calculate how much weight you'll put on by eating the leftover cake from mom's birthday and how many push-ups you'll need to burn off those calories. As we said, the future is bright!

Conclusion

Digital Twins are helping us move closer towards Industry 4.0 - complete automation of industrial processes. With this tech, we can predict breakdowns sooner, identify issues more accurately, propose precautionary measures and test critical features - all digitally. The most significant advantage is its scalability and flexibility. From modest workshops to mega factories, Digital Twins can be employed in every trade. As we like to say, having a Digital Twin is a business win!