How are Digital Twins shaping the future?

Digital Twins have become a cornerstone of innovation, blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds.

The Internet of Things has greatly changed since Libelium started with Waspmote, and the term IoT even existed. We talked about sensor networks. The IoT would come very later than that.

In this constantly evolving landscape of technology, we are constructing an entire body, starting with the neural links and sensors as the origin. From there, we build the rest of the body, treating connectivity as the neurons and the intelligent platform as the brain. This approach is the inverse of the path taken by researchers like Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a fellow countryman of our company, but without facing accusations of heresy.

We call this entire body the Digital Twin.

With the backbone (body metaphor, again) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, the Digital Twin technology offers a revolutionary simulation, analysis, and control method, seamlessly connecting theoretical constructs with their real-world counterparts.

But what is a Digital Twin?

A Digital Twin is an intricately detailed digital model that acts as a real-time digital counterpart to a physical object, process, or system. This virtual duplicate is dynamic, evolving alongside its physical peer, enriched continuously with live data.

This data can come from different sources: sensors, data spaces, satellites, etc.

The goal is to recreate a reliable other-self of a city, a factory or even a company because it is possible to make digital twins of almost everything, to replicate, prognosticate, and manipulate aspects of the physical domain, thus facilitating a deeper comprehension and improved decision-making processes.

What is the purpose of Digital Twins?

The essence of a Digital Twin lies in creating an exhaustive and precise digital representation of a physical entity within a digital framework. This enables detailed analysis, experimentation, and observation without limitations or expenses involved in altering the physical entity itself.

The application of Digital Twins in managing a low emission zone, for example, would focus on simulating, monitoring and optimizing the environmental and traffic dynamics of a specific area to reduce polluting emissions. This technology would create a detailed virtual model of the area, incorporating real-time data and simulations to improve air quality and transportation efficiency.

Another one: Most of the power line infrastructure operates at less than half capacity. Result: thousands of [insert your currency here] thrown into the trash. The more efficient moment to transmit the energy in a power line depends on diverse factors, such as the temperature of the cable. With a digital twin, it is possible to know the best time to transmit power without losses and using the already existing infrastructure.
It sounds like becoming a God, but some cities are already working on it.

Digital twins are more real than it could be thought.

Main benefit: see the future

Maintenance, resource efficiency improvement, CO2 emissions reduction… We have already mentioned some of the benefits, but all of them are summarised in one: see the future.

Utilising AI and Machine Learning, Digital Twins enable enhanced prediction accuracy, elevate operational efficiency, and drive innovation.

Additionally, they offer a significant reduction in costs and environmental footprint by optimizing processes and minimizing the need for physical prototypes.

And why are we talking about Digital Twins?

Integrating Digital Twins with the Internet of Things (IoT) marks a significant advancement. As we have said at the beginning, everything starts with a sensor, the first contact with the real world.
IoT devices furnish the live data essential for Digital Twins to reflect the physical world accurately.

This harmonious relationship amplifies the effectiveness of both technologies, leading to more efficient, interconnected, and sustainable systems capable of adapting to upcoming changing conditions and demands with agility.

Embracing the power of Digital Twins will unlock new levels of efficiency, sustainability, and creativity, charting the course towards a more intelligent, connected future.
Our ability to see the future gives us the power to change it.