From agriculture to engineering, digital twins are being used by different sectors to give powerful insights into the behaviour of physical infrastructure and systems. This could help make them safer, more efficient and improve their design. But what do we mean when we talk about a ‘digital twin’? And how and where can this technology be useful?
What is a digital twin?
A digital twin can most simply be described as a computational model designed to replicate a physical object or process. This can range from a virtual copy of a single structure, such as a bridge, to more complicated infrastructure, such as an entire city.
A digital twin is designed to behave as closely as possible to its real-world counterpart. It is updated using data collected from its physical twin and can simulate and predict its behaviour in real-time. This can help offer insights into how an object is working, allowing the opportunity to drastically improve the functionality of that object. It even offers the potential to make improvements before something is built.
Why are they useful?
New pieces of physical infrastructure have to be analysed to make sure they are safe, efficient and functioning correctly. Digital twins offer up data and insights that can change the way their real-world versions operate - for the better.
Industries including manufacturing, urban planning, aviation and maritime and agriculture are already using this technology to make their systems more efficient and reliable. These advanced models are allowing engineers to monitor the stress and strain of people walking over a bridge or helping farmers to optimise growing conditions for their crops.
In Clapham, London, for instance, growers at an underground farm are using a digital twin, built at the Turing, to help them manage conditions as they produce salad greens for local restaurants and shops. The farm’s digital twin (nicknamed CROP) works as a remote dashboard, enabling farm managers to assess and optimise conditions on the farm.
What is the Turing doing in this area?
At The Alan Turing Institute, researchers are working with digital twins of bridges, farms, wind turbines, ships and even the UK’s airspace.
For example, the digital twin that Turing researchers are creating for the world’s first 3D printed steel bridge in Amsterdam could help researchers assess the wear and tear of the bridge. Everyone that crosses the bridge on foot or by bike generates data which helps to monitor the bridge’s structure and how it’s being used in the real world. This helps engineers understand when the bridge needs maintenance and how 3D printed steel might be used for larger scale and more complex building projects.
And the Turing’s research with NATS, the UK's leading provider of air traffic control services, aims to deliver the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) system to control a section of airspace in live trials. This system will use digital twinning and machine learning technologies to predict future flight trajectories and their likelihoods – essential information for decision-making.
The launch of the Turing’s Turing Research and Innovation Cluster in Digital Twins (TRIC) is dedicated to democratising digital twin technologies. The next phase of the Institute’s work in digital twins will see increased emphasis on translating its research into industrial applications and commercialising the tools we need to use these technologies, whilst also establishing the standards to do so safely.
The TRIC-DT’s focus on the environment, infrastructure and health will help to unlock benefits across multiple sectors from transport to energy. Digital twins have an essential role to play in tackling some of the biggest challenges facing society and are a great example of the physical and virtual worlds working together in harmony.
