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This article will explain in detail what is the next wave of IoT in Digital Twin. The content of the article is of high quality, so the editor will share it with you for reference. I hope you will have a certain understanding of the relevant knowledge after reading this article.

The current business landscape is affected by many new technologies, and sometimes it is really difficult for people to keep up with the pace of technological innovation. While many people are familiar with the words Industrial 4.0 and the Internet of things (IoT), which contain too much technical content and commercial applications, Digital Twin is the next relay word that is steadily rising.

In fact, many people think that Digital Twin is the natural evolution of the Internet of things. After all, if everything is already connected in some digital or other form, why not let it "naturally" move on to the next process?

In essence, this is the main driving force behind Digital Twin architecture and technology-completely replicating the physical world in a digital environment, providing companies with new freedoms, opportunities, and advantages.

What is Digital Twin?

The concept of Digital Twin was first put forward by Michael Grieves of the University of Michigan and has existed since 2001, but in recent years, the continuous rapid iteration of modern technology has provided the possibility for its realization and popularization.

In short, Digital Twin refers to a virtual copy of a physical product or asset. This copy is updated in real time (or as regularly as possible) to match its real world as much as possible.

The model can then be used for a variety of purposes, from testing new strategies to analyzing previous results.

So how does this model work? Typically, sensors and other components are used to collect accurate data about assets. The data is then processed and used to create a copy. There is no doubt that more advanced sensors, whether more accurate devices or denser, more compact arrays, will help create more detailed digital models.

What are the benefits of Digital Twin modeling?

Testing physical products and assets can be a temporary and expensive process. However, you can quickly edit the digital copy to test the new solution and run Demo. If the experiment does not meet the requirements, no physical resources will be wasted.

Another benefit of Digital Twin is that it allows experts to develop and process projects without contact with physical equipment.

NASA is a case in point, and NASA has long been a pioneer in this technology-engineers create 1:1-scale replication models of launchers even before virtual simulations. Digital Twin allows engineers to deal with devices that are already in space and completely inaccessible without the hassle and difficulties of physical replication. Before the administrator makes changes to the physical entity, you can use this model to make detailed planned updates and changes, and test them in the field.

"Digital Twin's ultimate vision is to create, test and build our equipment in a virtual environment," said John Vickers, a manufacturing expert and manager at NASA's National Advanced Manufacturing Center. Only when we take it to the place we ask for can we actually make it. Then we want the physical build to connect to the Digital Twin through the sensor so that the Digital Twin contains all the information we can get by examining the physical build. "

Similarly, for companies that want or need to make changes to existing products or equipment, Digital Twin can help minimize downtime. For example, in a production line, an invalid link may limit the best efficiency of the entire chain, but it cannot be completely deleted for review / evaluation because it shuts down the entire process to which it belongs. However, virtual copies can be tested and improved without incurring these costs.

Digital Twin and the Internet of things

So why do we think Digital Twin is "the next wave of the Internet of things"? This is because the former has made good progress in sensors and input data, while the latter is increasingly making better use of these existing results for us.

With more interconnected devices and applications, we can link data more easily and better understand the details. Therefore, Digital Twin is an advanced way to collect and combine this data.

In fact, this is a revolution already in progress. According to Gartner, it is expected that by next year (2020), 75% of enterprises integrated with the Internet of things will use-or plan to start using-some form of Digital Twin technology. It is estimated that 13% of companies are already using such solutions, and another 62% have adopted some form of Digital Twin.

Digital dual use cases and industries

For many Digital Twin applications, the best scenarios they use work with other technologies, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning. Others can also use Digital Twin solutions as part of Industrial 4.0 or the Internet of things.

It is worth noting that it is not an entirely new alternative solution. Digital Twin is used to improve existing processes, it provides people with a "virtual playground", we can try a variety of methods in a simulated environment without affecting the real product.

Digital Twin technology can be used for a variety of purposes, and most enterprises can benefit from it. However, Digital Twin does have more far-reaching significance for some industries, which is worthy of our discussion here.

Manufacturing and engineering

There is no doubt that creating virtual replicas is of great significance to the manufacturing and engineering industries. The role of Digital Twin in manufacturing hardly needs to be introduced. It enables companies to quickly and effectively test new designs, whether they are small products or large and complex equipment. Testing a new supply chain in a virtual environment is easy, while testing a physical entity involves shutting down production, causing losses to the enterprise-only when necessary and when the best strategy is determined.

Of course, this technology can do more. An interesting example is GE's digital wind farm. By using the digital reproduction of its wind farm, operators can develop optimized maintenance strategies and take the weather and other factors into account. Due to the optimization and upgrading of maintenance, the maintenance personnel have a better evaluation of the equipment status under various conditions, and the reliability of equipment and judgment is also increased, which effectively improves the energy output generated by the wind farm.

Because all this is done digitally, engineers are free to carry out experiments and research. on the contrary, it may be more expensive to conduct physical tests on actual turbines. The existence of the former is to ensure that the latter is implemented only after the solution has been fully tested and evaluated.

These benefits also apply to the production process. Factories can use virtual replicas to test simplified solutions, discover the limits of their current production capacity, and test the pressure of new solutions.

Automobile

We mentioned earlier that Digital Twin can use sensors to record the continuous status of any project. This kind of Digital Twin analysis has great potential-especially in the automotive field. With more and more integration of cars with the Internet of things and digital technology, the ability to copy every detail becomes easier and easier.

For example, after any event occurs, Digital Twin can use sensor records to create real-time copies of events that occur. In this way, engineers can directly analyze the impact of each exact problem on the vehicle, not just the data recorded after the analysis.

However, Digital Twin has far more advantages in the automotive field than this. Engineers can test the safety functions of vehicles in a digital context, reducing the risk of unnecessary recall of new vehicles for safety reasons.

This is also important for auto parts manufacturers, because parts in the auto industry come from many different companies. Digital Twin allows suppliers or manufacturers to get more data from their products, test new solutions and improve their products before they are actually installed on the car.

Similarly, Digital Twin can also be very helpful when it comes to smart cars. Many smart car manufacturers are testing self-driving in a digital virtual environment. Since autopilot technology is still in the development stage, manufacturers can use Digital Twin to continuously test and improve their solutions with data obtained during actual testing.

Health care

Digital Twin in the healthcare field can identify faults or problems in various devices involved in various medical fields (usually very expensive and require highly skilled professionals). For example, MRI scanners and others generate a large number of daily logs and messages that can be entered into Digital Twin to see their current status, as well as new problems with the project. With this, engineers can design solutions to predict problems in advance, avoid sudden problems at critical moments, and maintain good maintenance of these equipment.

At a more personal level, medical devices can also be extended to the cloud, where data from sensors can be immediately associated with a patient's medical history and external data, such as demographics. As a result, it is also possible to run machine learning analysis-which is impossible on the initial medical device-to obtain as much information as possible to provide higher insight and analysis capabilities. all of this is supported by each virtual copy (at least from the perspective of medical data).

For hospitals and medical facilities, Digital Twin can be used for stress testing operations to simulate how hospitals should best operate in large-scale emergencies. From the deployment of doctors and staff, the entry and exit of hospital beds and consultation rooms, in order to better help patients in large-scale emergencies.

Similarly, the application of Digital Twin in health care products can also be used to help doctors provide customized care for individuals. With enough information, Digital Twin can come up with more personal solutions that include each person's different physical status and data.

In fact, there are already many people who expect to benefit from this technology in the health care industry in the future. As medical advances and more accurate sensors such as genome reading become more common, the ability to combine all of them will actually open up new possibilities for the industry as a whole.

Retail sales

From the beginning of the product manufacturing cycle to the strategic presentation of stores, retail is an area where data is booming. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the use of Digital Twin in the retail business can bring many benefits.

At the product level, companies can use Digital Twin to simulate the whole process from production to in-store demonstration. Here, companies can analyze manufacturing processes, supply chains and logistics, test new simplified solutions, and so on, which can effectively reduce costs (thereby increasing profit margins).

Want to test whether the new packaging or design can reduce the cost? Digital Twin allows you to test the entire product line without making large-scale physical changes.

At a broader business level, retail stores can use Digital Twin technology to simulate their stores and use sensors to track customer behavior. You can then store this information on Digital Twin to study the best location for key products. You can then recommend and test product and layout changes digitally.

Amazon is already doing something similar, using analytical data to determine the best layout of its warehouse, with the most needed projects stored in the most accessible locations. Digital Twin provides a good way to test such automation to ensure that the proposed solution does not have unintended consequences, such as direct access to channels or routing crossover and causing delays.

How to realize Digital Twin

From a technical point of view, Digital Twin technology is becoming more and more available. Cloud technology provides a way to process and run applications without the need for expensive servers.

If your company has been using big data, Internet of things integration or industrial 4.0 solutions, then you may already be using the Digital Twin architecture. These technological trends involve the use of sensors and other data collection tools for analysis and evaluation. In some cases, you may already have sufficient resources to create a prototype or working model.

The Business Culture of Digital Twin

That said, implementing Digital Twin also requires a strong digital culture. These models are most effective when companies have used sensors and other data collection techniques to learn as much as possible.

However, for any company, the crucial factor in using new technology is to identify areas you want to improve. Like big data, it's easy to capture everything, but there's no guarantee that it's completely useful. These solutions should be improved and focused on the areas where they are most applicable. This is one of the reasons why it is best to start on a small scale and apply Digital Twin technology to the best.

Summary

For many people, Digital Twin is already here-if not "seen", it will appear in the near future. If you haven't "seen" most of the Digital Twin, you can evaluate the business and determine that virtual simulations are areas that can be directly improved. The Internet of things has ensured that the world has access to a variety of sensors and input sources, so why not use it effectively?

Digital Twin enables companies to test new solutions, evaluate previous events, and predict future behavior. It enables different companies to work together and provide a low-cost, risk-free way to test new product designs, solutions, and services.

As the Internet of things has a deeper and deeper impact on the world, Digital Twin solutions become more and more feasible. This technology gives companies the freedom to evaluate, test, and improve without worrying too much about risk factors. In addition, any real-world decision will be strengthened through important simulation results to help organizations make the best choices.

This is the end of what is the next wave of IoT in Digital Twin. I hope the above content can be helpful to you and learn more knowledge. If you think the article is good, you can share it for more people to see.

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