What Is Digital Twin Technology – And Why Is It So Important?

A digital twin is a model of a product, service or process. Pairing the virtual and physical models allows researchers to analyze data to prevent problems before they happen. This can reduce downtime and assist in the development of new products and services.

Why Are Digital Twins Important?

Digital twins provide an alternative to expensive physical models. They are popular in business tools, especially for organizations that use the Internet of Things (IoT). This technique allows manufacturers to track processes, set triggers for preventive maintenance and enhance connected services and products. This is a game changer in distributed networks and for products, such as electronics, made of hundreds or thousands of IoT devices. Digital twins replace trial and error troubleshooting by running through multiple scenarios digitally.

It’s vitally important to protect the technology and data used by digital twins. They are sometimes prone to vandalism, theft or misuse. In some cases, hackers target operational and security details available via less protected digital twin technology and devices.

Digital Twin Technology

Digital twins are important for the future of connected systems. To be useful, digital models have to capture the important factors of a system to mimic its behavior and operation. Then, changes can be applied to the virtual system to observe the probable impact on the physical process or product

Engineers and architects have built mathematical and small scale models for hundreds of years. However, it was NASA scientists who ushered in a new area of digital twins in the 1960’s. Those responsible for the mammoth rockets that circled the earth and landed on the moon had to model out every procedure right here on earth.

Today, businesses use sensors to predict or create real-world conditions. The data gathered is fed back into the digital model, to improve either the virtual or physical system being tested. Now, data and analysis can be shared on the Internet, allowing for remote control and feedback.

For example, technicians might collect data remotely for a process they are troubleshooting. This saves time and money on travel and related expenses and broadens the pool of talent that can be hired to run the tests. Digital twins narrow down the potential sources of difficulty and can suggest fixes. Solutions can be tested elsewhere, approved and implemented without stepping foot in the company containing the physical equipment.

Protecting Digital Twins

Digital twins can protect the security of a physical system. This is convenient if you have to outsource part of the project outside your home office. Typically, those teams have to be given access to your network. With a digital twin, all the diagnostic data is provided by the system itself and the results are processed independently of the main network. This reduces the opportunity for bad actors to compromise your system using the IoT connections of the various devices.

A digital twin that’s been improved with real data becomes more valuable to the company for its ability to accurately predict real-world results. However, it also becomes an enticing target for competitors. That’s why it’s important to treat digital twins as valuable assets and afford them the same protections as production systems.

Management can do this by requiring careful pre-authentication of all software applications. Collected data should be encrypted during transmission and on backup storage devices. Digital twins and physical systems can be protected using an automated verification service. This ensures the systems are running as anticipated and helps prevent any activity not approved by the system administrators.

More security systems are moving to digital IP networking. This expands the opportunities to use digital twins in sensitive fields, such as the security industry. A digital twin lets you perform fixes, run tests and receive alerts while decreasing costs and improving turnaround times. Digital twins take the place of iterative fixes that keep systems down for hours or days while you work out a solution.

Digital twins drive innovation and enhance performance. It’s as valuable as the most talented product technicians and provides automated monitoring as well as analytical and predictive capabilities. And, the technology continues to advance and improve the application process each year.