Unlike the Internet of Things (IoT) which we have discussed in great detail on this website, digital twin technology has actually been around for much longer- in fact, it dates back to more than a decade now!
However, you might not have known much about this technology because until recently, it was not something used very commonly due to cost issues.
In fact, you can even thank the Internet of Things for its help in making digital twin technology more cost-effective.
Because of this, the popularity of the digital twin technology has risen significantly in the last few years. This is why, in this post, we will introduce you to this old- and yet, new- concept.
What is Digital Twin Technology?
This might seem quite familiar to you. After all, without ever really knowing what it is, chances are that you have seen digital twin technology in movies.
From classics such as Star Wars to the more recent, immensely popular Marvel comic hero movies, all of them use the idea of a hologram to either convey messages or show data. Believe it or not, but the holograms that you see in movies are actually an application of digital twin technologies.
“The very definition of Digital Twin technology is that it is a digital representation of an object or person or even a system that is present in our physical world ” digital representations can be as detailed as you want.
In fact, you can even have a digital twin of yourself now. Whole cities, factories, cars- anything and everything that you can think of can have a digital twin now because, in the last few years, the technology has expanded immensely.
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Applications and examples of Digital Twin Technology
Because of the scale of their operation, digital twin technologies can be used across quite a lot of industries. NASA and the United States Air Force plan to use this technology to create lightweight vehicles that are sturdier than their current counterparts and can be used to carry more load.
Similarly, IBM is also combining digital twin technology with augmented reality in order to optimize the experience. Furthermore, a Gartner study predicts that 50% of large industrial companies will be using digital twin technology by 2021 in order to improve effectiveness by 10%.
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If you don’t understand how they’ll be able to do that then let us elaborate. Digital twin technology basically allows you to create and recreate objects that either exist, or you can even make objects like machinery or aircraft models on them and test them out in simulations.
The digital twin will react just like the real object would so essentially, you’re saving a lot of money by building your machines as digital twins rather than working on a physical prototype.
This can be used for a large number of industries. Digital twin technology could be used by pharmaceutical companies, architects, scientists, data scientists, and so many others. Its applications are of a wide and varied variety.
You could even experiment with different materials by using a digital twin. It could really improve our lives as the use of better materials for transmission of energy can also more power and reduce resistance.
See also: What is the Internet of Things Security? Why IoT Security is important?
Digital Twin Technology and Internet of Things
As mentioned, the Internet of Things has made the use of digital twin technology very useful. This is because, through IoT sensors, digital twins can be used for smaller objects as well, making them more cost- effective for many companies who might be looking for ways to make their systems better.
By combining IoT and digital twins, you can easily create better simulations which will be hugely beneficial for corporations such as investment firms and more.
IoT devices are used by these firms to collect and quickly process data to help in creating a prediction or analysis. With the use of digital twins, these companies will be able to not only make predictions but also use simulations to predict further down the road.
A digital twin takes into account everything that happens in the physical world as it puts it down in the digital one for representation.
Such simulations will definitely help investment firms to prepare for every scenario available to them, thus minimizing the chance of loss.
And it’s not just investment firms that can take advantage of this.
Think about how much more effective scientists would be in carrying out experiments if they used IoT and digital twins together to produce simulations- they could do so much more than what they’re doing right now!
Conclusion
In the end, we’d like to end on the note that digital twin technology has definitely been overlooked in the past because it was either too expensive or not practical enough for some companies, but now as trends change, we will probably see a rise in popularity of digital twins, especially since it is very easy to combine them with IoTs.
As we’ve mentioned on this website, IoTs are growing at a very rapid pace. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that other technologies that can be used to compliment IoTs are also gaining momentum after years of neglect.
See also: What is Edge computing? Is it essential for the IoT ?
Let us know, if you know about real life “ Digital twin technology examples” in comment section below.
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