12 factors heating up the popularity of digital twins and simulations
The concept of digital twins is a leading trend in enterprise strategy. It gets its name from the way that companies are building virtual equivalents, or twins, of physical objects. These digital copies are increasingly popular because they can be used to drive important simulations that haven’t been possible until now.
Take a wind turbine, as an example of where digital twin technology comes in handy. The turbine can be outfitted with sensors, which produce real-time data about the turbine’s performance, be it speed, energy output, or weather conditions. This data can then be used to make a digital copy of the turbine, including a 3D digital representation. Machine learning and other models can be applied to recognize patterns in this turbine — for example, whether it is working optimally. The digital copy can be used to run simulations without bothering the original turbine, and improvements can then be fed back to the original.
Simulation drives interest in digital twins
Observers see significant demand for multi-physics simulations that present a holistic view across different physical domains like electronics, structures, and heat. This is critical for areas like noise and vibration. Top simulation techniques include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multi-body systems (MBS), or finite element analysis (FEA) technologies.
