Representing Real-World Entities in Industrial Applications with Digital Twins

Make no mistake: digital twin systems are revolutionizing industrial applications. Across the industrial landscape, headlines are being made due to how digital twins can enhance industries such as aerospace, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, and many more.

However, what is a digital twin? How does it help those operating in the manufacturing domain? This article, a starter guide of sorts, will help to explain all the basics about this revolutionary computer program.

What Is a Digital Twin?

For a definition of digital twin, the best place to turn to is the Digital Twin Consortium. They summed up this computer program with the following sentence:

“A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity.”

All of this is done to refine business operations and enhance the decision-making process. Yet how does a digital twin make this a reality? It uses a combination of historical and real-time data, allowing it to simulate various scenarios. Digital twins can also supply insights into possible outcomes – helping organizations make smarter, more informed decisions.

In the world of manufacturing, a digital twin can be summed up as a digital replica for a real world entity. This real world entity can include production equipment such as a robot or machine tool. It is a highly powerful solution that can improve organizations in multiple ways.

Digital Twins and Their Role in Edge Computing

Edge computing plays a key role in industrial applications. As such, the concept of digital twin is naturally linked to edge computing.

Using edge computing opens up access to digital twins for more companies. This is beneficial in numerous ways. Firstly, they can move away from large cloud computing networks (the types that can be associated with time delays and extra cost) and instead choose to go with technology resources that are more localized. This allows for real-time data to be gathered and managed, and this ultimately saves money and time.

Things Embedded is a leading system design engineering company, and their work around edge computing for industrial applications is increasingly growing. The capabilities of digital twins support this. When integrated into operations for companies, this computer program boosts the ability to make real-time decisions, data integrity, and general efficiency.

The Use Of Digital Twins In Industrial Applications

As for specific instances where digital twins are used within industrial applications, they are commonly a solution for monitoring and predicting the performance levels of physical assets. An example could be a manufacturing company that utilizes digital twin models to refine its production processes. Digital twin assists by tracking the machine’s operation, adjusting in real-time as needed.

Another instance of digital twins in action is when used to check for defects or subpar performance in end products. By learning from past and current data, companies are able to improve their production line. The result: they can minimize possible errors and streamline their general operations, leading to higher-quality production and reducing wastage.