Key takeaways:
- Digital twins are virtual representations or simulation models of real-world assets.
- By 2026, the global digital twin market is predicted to be worth $48.2 billion.
- 62% of businesses plan to implement digital twin technology in the coming years.
- It is expected that all railcars will have their own digital twin in the next five years.
The line between the physical and virtual world is blurring. This is clear to see with the emergence of virtual reality headsets and augmented reality smartphone apps. However, while there has been plenty of focus on the merging of these two worlds from a consumer standpoint, it’s in business that the biggest effects are felt.
Digital twin technology is having a transformative effect on business across a broad spectrum of industries, from healthcare to manufacturing. In fact, the global digital twin market is predicted to be worth $48.2 billion by 2026. It comes as no surprise that digital twin technology has already appeared on Garner’s top 10 strategic technology trends multiple times.
What Exactly is a Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world asset. When changes occur to an asset, the digital twin is updated in real-time. This means an organization can make predictions, try new things and optimize critical processes to see what would happen if the principle is applied to a real-world asset or fleet of assets. Rather than making an important business decision based on a mere hunch, a digital twin enables companies to base their actions on precise data and analysis. When paired with innovative fleet management solutions, a digital twin is vital for improving overall asset utilization, maintenance scheduling and supply chain visibility.
Some Digital Twin Examples
- In manufacturing: There are estimated to be more than 10 billion active IoT devices currently deployed in manufacturing around the world. The manufacturing sector collects data from its machinary, equipment and operating processes and uses it to simulate multiple digital replicas, which are used to test new operating models, maintenance scenarios and the impact of future demands coming from a dynamic market. Increasingly manufacturing companies are using digital twins to run and manage diagnostics, optimize resources and improve product quality.
- In healthcare: There are high hopes for digital twin applications in the healthcare space. Digital twins are being used in the design of innovative medical devices to treat the maximum number of patients and in a way that suits their specific diagnosis. They can be used for modeling personalized medicine make it possible to create a virtual model of the human body and it’s specific immunology profile to enhance medical care planning and boost treatment success.
- In utilities: Utility providers manage a complex range of inputs and outputs. A national energy grid system experiences fluctuating demand due to cultural and geopolitical factors. Big data must be deployed with a Digital twin approach to ensure delivery of a consistent electricity supply. Digital twins are useful to assess how services will cope with peaks and troughs in demand and evaluate different future scenarios including the feasibility of new innovative approaches to sustainability.
The Benefits of Digital Twin Technology
According to research conducted by Gartner, 13% of businesses are currently using digital twins, with 62% planning to implement the technology in the future. Digital twins are gaining so much traction in the business arena due to the number of potential benefits they offer at all stages of the product lifecycle.
Firstly, digital twins provide huge advantages in terms of risk assessment. By using a digital twin businesses can create a virtual replica of a real-world product, test and validate it, and identify process failures before asigning resources on the actual production process. Similarly, digital twins can help prevent potential failures of existing products. Businesses can leverage digital twins to deliver predictive maintenance, rather than simply scheduling maintenance using an arbitrary time period as a basis. By analyzing Big data around component or product selection and performance, business leaders can determine the optimum time for maintenance to occur and make decisions on whether to repair or replace.
Digital twins can also be deployed to enable remote monitoring and collaboration with key partners. It may not always be possible for engineers or other employees to visit an asset in person, so accessing a digital twin via a laptop or smartphone makes evaluation of conditions and likely problems easy to assess regardless of where workers are based. Digital twins make it simple for businesses to gather insights on a particular asset from a larger pool of experts and specialists no matter where they are located.
Digital Twins and the Supply Chain
A supply chain has inputs, processes and outputs that can be monitored and on which data can be gathered. Digital twins are applied to supply chains to remove bottlenecks and optimize processes, for example, they can provide context around complex scenarios, provide clues on where to investigate and enable companies to assess the relationship between external factors like market conditions or macro- economics that will demand changes to processes and logistics management.
Supply chains must become more elastic and evolve to meet the new reality as markets evolve. How can businesses be sure that these changes won’t lead to poor performance? With a digital twin, companies can test predicted supply chain shifts and bridge weaknesses before they occur in the real-world.
How Nexxiot Uses Digital Twins to Optimize Logistics
At Nexxiot, we believe all future railcars and tank containers transporting cargo will have their own digital twin to help operators monitor and make decisions for their fleet. Digital Twins will allow them to zoom into the health status of every asset and zoom out to evaluate their operational efficiency. With the help of the digital twin, railcar owners will be able to oversee assets from anywhere in the world, maximize the utilization of their fleet and inform their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes to make the best choices for their own business and improve the experience of their customers too.
Digital twins will be used to transform the maintenance processes around the railcar.
With a complete overview of all railcars, plus a detailed history of all meaningful events the critical information will be accessible for all parties that require it. Predictive capabilities will make suggestions to railcar operators on the optimum time for maintenance actions to take place and provide a reason. There will be a shift from pre-scheduled, time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. This will result in operational efficiencies, reduced maintenance costs and improved sustainability since every part and component will be used for its maximum potential lifetime.
Supply chain technology is constantly evolving. Digital twins may be one of the newest innovations in this field, allowing operators not only observe but also model alternative routes for their fleet. In the digital environment, it is possible to deploy railcars to new clients, using new routes considering traffic, national border crossings and various quality of rail infrastructure. Increased flexibility in reimagining the business together with predictive capabilities open new value propositions for rail freight clients and leads to optimized use of existing assets and infrastructure.
As supply chains become more complex (or if they face the kind of disruption, we saw recently in the face of the global pandemic), digital twins will ensure that logistics providers are never taken by surprise in the future. By leveraging Nexxiot’s expertise in Big Data processing and analytics, clients can take a huge step towards prototyping and deploying digital twin based solutions to create new value for multiple stakeholders at once including their own clients.
By combining our smart ‘zero-maintenance’ hardware and purpose-built Nexxiot Connect Intelligent Cloud, businesses can stay ahead of all kinds of unknown events that can effect their cargo carrying assets. These capabilities offer asset owners the power to be proactive and take control of their fleets better than ever before.
Find out how digital twin technology can ensure efficiency and visibility within your fleet and revolutionize the supply chains of your clients too.
Get in touch with Nexxiot today.
