Why Digital Twin Computing (DTC) is the future industrial backbone ?
First, what is a digital twin, and why is it different from the IoT or 3D printing ?
A digital twin or digital Siamese twin is a digital representation of an object, process or environment (such as a city, for example).
A digital twin or digital Siamese twin is a digital representation of an object, process or environment (such as a city, for example).
This technology should not be confused with the Internet of Things. For the IoT, data is collected from a physical object and its environment using sensors, while for the digital twin, data is injected into a virtual object, evolving according to its use.
Digital Twins are therefore dependent on the IoT, but also integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis to create digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change.
DTC’s can be used in the aeronautics or automotive industry to test aircraft and cars before they are released on the market.
Manufacturers use DTC to manage the performance, efficiency and predict failures of their machinery or plants, while some cities use it to simulate and plan the impact of new projects and road traffic.
Digital twins should also not be reduced to a simple 3D model of a device. 3D modeling is often used in design and product conception before going into production. The objects are therefore perfectly detailed. In the case of a DT, we take the opposite approach, we start with an existing object, loaded with sensors and then we simply create in 3D the elements that seem critical to us.
Which industries and use cases can take advantage of this technology?
Many industries can benefit from DTC. We have been using this technique for a very long time!
July 1969…
The Apollo spacecraft, which took man to the moon, is one of the first examples of a device with a digital twin.
This technology was originally used by extremely critical space and aeronautic devices.
Now it has become accessible to many more industries and companies, to monitor, forecast and control equipment that costs less than a few tens or even thousands of euros, such as cars, industrial machinery, wind turbines, buildings, or industrial boilers.
DTC can even be used in the service of environmental protection by digitally duplicating the meteorological environments of rainfall and different water collection and treatment plants, to improve the quality of service for end users.
The company’s team can create a Digital Twin of the entire hydrological cycle.
The water cycle describes the exchange of water between the atmosphere and the different parts of the hydrosphere (including precipitation, snowmelt, infiltration, evaporation, condensation, …).
It is repeated periodically and is described by the following processes:
- Evaporation from the oceans, other water sources and plants into the air
- The concentration of water steam and its cooling in the clouds, followed by their discharge on the ground in the form of rain.
- Drafting of rivers and other water basins in the oceans
This allows engineers to analyse run-off and rainwater harvesting. This analysis enables them to create a model for the distribution of potable water and wastewater collected during treatment.
Teams can use the final calculations and information obtained to create hydraulic and numerical models to predict what will happen in the future. Thus they can then modify their plants according to the different prediction models.
These models can therefore be duplicated for different industries: solar, electricity, oil, gas, etc.
Maxime LE LEANNEC - 雷王力
