Digital Twin: How The Technology Can Make IoT Even Smarter

Digital Twin was named by Gartner as one of the Top 10 strategic technology trends 2018.

Digital Twin represents a virtual copy of physical objects, processes and services that can be used to create realistic simulations for IoT.

The digital copy provides both the elements and the dynamics of how an IoT device operates and lives throughout its life cycle.

It allows analyzing data and monitoring systems to detect problems before they occur, eliminate downtime, develop new opportunities and plan for the future.

Bridging physical and digital worlds

As mentioned above, a digital twin acts like a live model of a physical object.

The technology requires gathering data from various sources including physical data, manufacturing data, operational data, etc. This information is then integrated into a virtual model using AI-based algorithms.

This input data enables to form relevant insights and apply them to the physical world.

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Application fields and use cases

The technology has a lot of potential in numerous areas. Deloitte highlights the following 10 fields:

• Connected car
• Energy
• Healthcare
• Smart home
• IT
• Logistics
• Aviation
• Smart city
• Manufacturing
• Telecommunications

A striking example is the German vehicle manufacturer Audi that provides customers with a virtual test drive option using virtual reality glasses. The car can be configured according to customer requirements.

The Digital Twin takes all essential parameters into account that are relevant for a virtual driving experience. Thus, a potential buyer can truly experience even highly dynamic maneuver, e.g., overtaking, lane change.

Benefits

The Digital Twin technology allows creating a riskless and cost-efficient simulation without having to implement a new process or a modification to a physics-based machine. It enables significant costs and risks reduction.

The key benefits:

• Greater efficiency
• Enhanced quality
• Reduced risks
• Higher growth
• More flexibility
• Increased transparency

Digital Twins and supra platforms

The potential of Digital Twin is currently restricted by extremely fragmented IoT ecosystems which make integration of further services simply impossible.

Deloitte consultants expect Digital Twin to drive forward numerous trends such as Smart City, eHealth, etc. For example, in healthcare a digital twin could fully map patient´s health data. In fact, the implementation of such application requires a comprehensive open supra platforms which only very large players will be capable to build.

Conclusion

Digital Twin is a much-promising technology that will help companies to enhance the customer experience by better understanding customer needs, improve their products and services, and drive the innovation of new business.

According to Deloitte, the digital twin potential is not being fully exploited. The technology requires a borderless networking which will be enabled in the future by constructing so-called open supra platforms.

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