Digital Twin

Benefits

Establish the digital twin as a database for all IoT business processes
Create complete profiles across the entire lifecycle of your products and map changes in the field
Use the digital twin as a basis for creating added value for your customers

Establish the digital twin as a database for all IoT business processes

The digital twin is the virtual counterpart of a physical object in the field in its current state. The digital twin ideally accompanies its product instance throughout its entire lifecycle - hence the familiar term "digital shadow". The purpose of this connection of the virtual and real world is to carry out data analyses, simulations and tests. Establish the digital twin as a data basis for digital business models and benefit from comprehensive improvements in your entire value chain!

Improve products and processes
The potential of the digital twin embraces improvements in products as well as production and maintenance processes in every respect: the analyses can initiate performance enhancements through functional changes or quality improvements through product design changes as well as extending machine downtimes, avoiding downtime or accelerating problem solving. Depending on the requirements of the application, the virtual representation is more or less detailed. In the simplest case, these are parameter sets that define the operating parameters of the device. For more complex machines and systems, for example, configuration optimization may require a high degree of granularity of the digital twin, from the operating history to detailed function parameters and the service parts list.

Establish the digital twin as a database for all IoT business processes

Create complete profiles across the entire product lifecycle and map changes in the field

Via cloud-based, open IoT infrastructures you connect devices in the field, for example your machines, to the digital world by means of sensor technology. The field data from the real machine is represented by the digital twin as a virtual counterpart. In addition to operating data and location information, the digital twin can contain time series up to the complete operating history, error messages and data on the desired status.

Mapping changes "As maintained"
What distinguishes the Digital Twin from the service bill of materials is the precise representation of the device's individual properties and changes within the scope of operation in the field. For example, the status "as maintained" can be digitally mirrored down to the last detail. For example, damage, replacement parts, attachments and the like can also be documented.

Create complete profiles across the entire product lifecycle and map changes in the field

Use the digital twin as a basis for creating added value for your customers

Originally, the Digital Twin is derived from the Digital Master, the blueprint of a population of devices. The population can consist of product variants or plant-specific variants. In the Elements for IoT dashboard for the digital twin, you link the data relevant to the physical product - the device - from the digital master (geometry models, parts lists, variant configurations) with the field data (technical state, measurement data, construction states) and software configurations.

Increase customer turnover and improve product profitability
The widgets in the dashboard of the digital twin can be configured individually with Elements for IoT: In addition to the master data of the Digital Master and the overview of the devices in the field, you can display maintenance events, charts and analyses, 3D geometries as well as tasks or the activity stream. The analysis of the digital twin forms the basis for better decisions and the creation of added value. With Elements for IoT, make the Digital Twin the linchpin of your digital business models. Increase revenue per customer with services and additional offers as well as by predicting customer behavior and increase your product profitability!

Use the digital twin as a basis for creating added value for your customers

How the digital twin supports your business

The digital twin bridge
End to end processes
Compliance in process

Digital twins bridge the physical and digital world

Digital twins create a digital representation of an actual physical asset that acts as the interface to connect the physical assets to existing PLM, ERP, SCM and other software systems. They provide the foundation to integrate operational technology (OT) and enterprise IT. A sophisticated digital twin integrates an asset’s IoT data, engineering documents, configuration and maintenance history of hard- and software, customer information and much more. Organizations leveraging such powerful digital twins will build reliable IoT solutions faster and experience better ROI.

More efficient predictive maintenance and service of IoT assets

IoT solutions using machine learning and analytics improve the efficiencies of an asset and reduce downtime by predicting the best time for asset maintenance. However, the actual maintenance and service of the physical IoT asset requires a precise view of the hardware and software configuration history. Since digital twins connect the IoT data with an asset's configuration history, a precise view is available to service technicians so they can ensure they have the correct parts to carry out the maintenance.

Better products through data driven product improvements

Digital twins make it possible to leverage the operational data of an IoT asset for the improved design of future product versions. Performance data and service information can be linked via a digital twin to the virtual product “as designed” and corresponding engineering change processes. Thus, product planners benefit from true operational data to determine the improvements for new versions of the product, and create simulations of new product versions to assist with testing and deployments.

Enable new business through operational and enterprise IT integration

A key benefit of connected products is the ability to gain insight into how a customer is using the product and the engagement process between product and customer. This deeper insight allows organization to offer new business services, like usage based licensing, to their customers. Key enabler is the IoT data and processes being integrated with the existing IT and OT systems. Digital twins provide a single integration point that allows organizations to connect new IoT assets to the existing PLM, ERP and SCM landscape.

Compliance traceability

Many IoT assets must comply with government regulations and industry certifications. Therefore, any change to an asset needs to be executed according to these regulations. Key enabler to ensure that this is fulfilled automatically in time and “in process” are procedures connecting the asset itself and its digital twin. For example, the digital twin and its configuration history will reflect any software configuration change by means of a digital audit trail incl. live links to the actual virtual product model documentation.