
The Digital Transformation -DX- is ongoing and, actually, it has been accelerated by the pandemic that forced many companies to move as much as possible of their activities to the cyberspace.
As shown in the graphic, Digital Twins are tools that support operation in the cyberspace for many entities and processes. Data resulting from the shift to the cyberspace create a model of the entity/process in the physical space and the stream of data provided by sensors support the shadowing. In addition, all data are kept forming the thread. Hence, the three components making up a Digital Twin are available as result of the DX.
Does the DX require Digital Twins? No. Would the DX benefit from Digital Twins? Absolutely.
Digital Twins provide a structure to entities in the cyberspace and connect them to their counterpart in the physical space. They provide a “method” and a standard of operation, through encapsulation of entity. This is particularly important when we are dealing with data and want to preserve their ownership whilst at the same time we want to share them. Rather than sharing the value a Digital Twin makes possible to share its “meaning” through interactions. These interactions can be monitored and can be managed according to a framework. This applies to Digital Twins at stage 3 and beyond, particularly to those at stage 4 and beyond since at those stages Digital Twins offer functions and interactions with third parties (not those with the physical entity) are based on function activation.
One of the issue with shifting the physical to the “digital” is the loss of visibility. Seeing “bits” is not easy and most of the times it is meaningless. Here is where DTs come handy. They are a model and this model can be rendered, made visible in a meaningful way using Virtual Reality. This happens during the design phase, when the physical entity does not yet exist. Designers, even if they are scattered around the globe can look and interact with the design seeing what the physical entity will be like and even experimenting with it. Maintenance crew can use the model to see “inside” an engine, to try out ways of fixing a problem. Actually, an exciting application of Digital Twins and virtual reality is in the area of Surgery where surgeons can practice with the digital model of the patient trying different approaches to a surgery.
It is not just supporting through virtual reality the access to the cyberspace. It is also the possibility to use the Digital Twin to connect the cyberspace with the physical space through Augmented Reality. In this case the Digital Twin can steer the rendering of data onto the physical entity or render a physical entity in a different physical ambient.