Introduction to Digital Twins

A Digital Twin of any device/system is a working model of all

components (at micro level or macro level or both) integrated
and mapped together using physical data, virtual data interaction
data between them to make a fully functional replica of the
device/system and that too on a digital medium.
This digital twin of the physical system is not intended to
outplace the physical system but to test its optimality and predict
the physical counterparts’ performance characteristics.
You can know of the system’s operational life course, the
implication of design changes, the impact of environmental
alters and a lot more variables using this concept. Talking about
life course, it invites me to aromatize your awareness of the
concept with its origin.
A digital twin is a digital model of an intended or actual real-
world physical product, system, or process (a physical twin) that
serves as a digital counterpart of it for purposes such
as simulation, integration, testing, monitoring. A digital twin is
set of adaptive models that emulate the behaviour of a physical
system in a virtual system getting real time data to update itself
along its life cycle. The digital twin replicates the physical
system to predict failures and opportunities for changing, to
prescribe real time actions for optimizing and/or mitigating
unexpected events observing and evaluating the operating
profile system. generally), the first practical definition of a
digital twin originated from NASA

Brief History of Digital Twin

The concept and model of the Digital Twin was officially put
forward in 2002 by Dr. Michael Grieves as the conceptual
model underlying Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
The concept was being practiced since the 1960s by NASA.
They used basic twinning ideas for space programming at that
time. They did this by creating physically duplicated systems at
ground level to match the systems in space.

Example: When NASA developed a digital twin to assess and

simulate conditions on board Apollo 13. The efforts were made
keeping in mind only a particular mission and because of that,
this concept didn’t gain recognition until 2002 after Dr.
Grieves presented it with all the elements including real
space, virtual space and the spreading of data and information
flow between real and virtual space.
The concept of integrating the digital and physical parts as one
entity has remained the same since its emergence. Although the
terminology has changed over the years till 2010 when it was
subsequently called ‘Digital Twin’ by John Vickers of NASA
in a 2010 Roadmap Report.

Applications of Digital Twins

We are in the early development stages of the Digital Industrial

Era where the Digital Twin as yet is in it?s infancy. Despite
this, we can catch sight of tremendous transformations that lie
ahead of us. These Digital Twins epitomize asset ‘memories’
and even ‘group consciousness as they turn out to be the ‘living
models of physical entities. We are witnessing the major
applications of Digital Twins in the following sectors:
1. Manufacturing:
Not only the emergence of Digital Twins helps us manufacture
high-grade products. But also we can salvage money and time
both, which would otherwise be wasted on the production. It
facilitates these firms to test new designs expeditiously.
Talking about Virtualised Testing of a new supply chain, its a
breeze, whereas testing the physical equivalent involves
shutting down production, losing profits, which on the other
hand can be like opening a Pandora’s box. Since digital twins
can give a real-time view of what’s happening with equipment
or other physical assets, they have been very helpful in
manufacturing.

2. Automotive:
As automobiles, especially cars, become progressively
integrated with IoT and digital technology, the ability to
replicate every detail becomes increasingly indispensable. With
the help of digital twins, it has become a piece of cake for
engineers to predict the performance of the machines. We can
construct a digital twin of all sorts of autonomous vehicles and
track the vehicle from the day of its creation to the day it goes
to the junkyard. Engineers can test new safety features in the
digital world, without any need for the new physical vehicle to
test changes. For a similar reason, smart car producers are
testing their self-driving AI in digital environment too.

3. Healthcare:
A digital twin can help virtualize a hospital system to create a
safe environment and test the impact of potential changes on
the performance of the system. Furthermore, Digital Twins in
the healthcare sector can identify faults with the various
equipment (which is often very expensive and needs to operate
at optimum levels) involved in various medical fields. Not just
that but digital twin has helped doctors to carry out difficult
surgeries. Take an example of cardiologists, they used digital
twins of the patient’s heart to precisely determine the
positioning of leads that would work best on this specific
patient that too before surgery decreasing the risk of failure.

4. Retail:
The implementation of this concept of a Digital Twin plays a
key role in augmenting the retail customer experience by
manufacturing a simulation that could accurately represent how
a specific model of a product takes place in an individual’s life.
Not only this but also it lets you test if there is any potential in
a new design of the product to cut back expenses without
having to make large scale physical changes to your entire
product range which can reduce the market price of the
product. Having an exact digital copy of your physical asset
can lead to trendsetting innovations. Once the innovation
works well for digital model, one can start investing in
physical assets.

5. Smart Cities:
Cities have numerous moving and interconnected building
blocks. With a well suited advanced model, civil engineers,
governments and other related companies can test new
solutions in the best possible way. This tool can prove highly
advantageous for analyzing the different forms of transport and
pedestrian movement patterns and for sound planning to ensure
that their requirements are met. When prepared with Machine
Learning, this model can test possible solutions to problems
like traffic management in no time. This model would be
beneficial in yet another troublesome situations. Such as, in the
case of a fire emergency, firefighters can have access to the 3D
model of the building. With the help of Augmented Reality and
AI, firefighters could know where people are and how to
predict fire’s behavior.

Future Of Digital Twins

The global digital twin market is set to skyrocket, projecting a

staggering annual growth rate of almost 38 percent and
reaching $15.7 billion by 2023, as per MarketsandMarkets
research. However, constructing a digital twin presents
challenges, including the absence of clear standards, the need
for user training, and governance planning. Beyond these
hurdles, digital twins hold transformative potential in
healthcare, offering insights that surpass traditional medical
limitations. Simulated organs and city replicas could
revolutionize medicine and enhance search capabilities. Human
digital twins, powered by real-time data from wearables and
unique genetic codes, promise solutions to health and crime
issues. Major players like Bosch, Microsoft, IBM, and GE are
investing in this technology, signaling its significance in
shaping the future, while those lagging behind risk facing
company downturns.
Benefits or Advantages of Digital Twin

Here are the key advantages of using Digital Twin technology:

 Real-time Monitoring: Industries can monitor a constant

stream of usage and performance data in real time.
 End-to-End Data Integration: Industries can combine end-
to-end asset or product lifecycle data into digital threads.
 New Business Models: Supports new products as a service
business model.
 Innovation Driver: Drives innovation in manufacturing,
R&D, supply chain management, service, and logistics.
  Medical Innovation: Digital twins help accelerate medical
innovation, aiding in tumor research and new drug
development.
 Optimized Treatment: Helps doctors accurately optimize
the performance of patient-specific treatment plans.
 Faster, Safer, and Cheaper Medical Solutions: Can bring
life-saving innovations to market faster, reduce medical
costs, and increase patient safety.
 Hospital Optimization: By creating a digital twin of a
hospital, one can observe potential changes in operational
strategy, capacities, staffing, and care delivery models.

Drawbacks or Disadvantages of Digital Twin

Here are some of the potential drawbacks of Digital Twin

technology:

 Internet Dependency: The technology’s success is heavily

dependent on internet connectivity.
 Security Risks: Security vulnerabilities are a concern.
  3D Model Requirement: The digital twins concept is
based on 3D CAD models, not 2D drawings.
 Supply Chain Integration: Requires digital twins across
entire supply chains.
 Globalization and Manufacturing Challenges: Challenges
include globalization and new manufacturing techniques.
 Data Management Complexity: Managing all the design
data for the digital twin among partners and suppliers as
the physical product evolves will be a significant
challenge.

CONCLUSION

Digital twins have been the subject of widespread interest and

enthusiasm; it is challenging to separate what is true from what
is merely aspirational , due to a lack of agreement across
domains and sectors as well as misinformation. It is important
to separate the aspirational from the actual to strengthen the
credibility of the research in digital twins and to recognize that
serious research questions remain in order to achieve the
aspirational. Realizing the potential of digital twins requires an
integrated research agenda that advances each one of the key
digital twin elements and, importantly, a holistic perspective of
their interdependencies and interactions. This integrated
research agenda includes foundational needs that span multiple
domains as well as domain-specific needs.

REFERENCE

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_twin
 https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-digital-
twin/