A digital twin is a virtual copy, a model, of a real physical asset in operation. It reflects the current condition of the asset and includes significant historical data on it. The digital twin can be used to assess the current condition of the asset and, more importantly, predict its future behavior, refine its control or optimize its operation.A digital twin can be a model of a component, a system of components or of a system of systems, such as pumps, motors, power plants, production lines or a fleet of vehicles. The models reflect the current operating environment, age and configuration of the asset, which typically involves direct streaming of data into the optimization algorithms.Digital twins allow you to optimize, improve efficiency, automate and evaluate future performance .
Digital twins can be new and important tools for training: instead of studying and training on the analog object, you can first study its digital representation.
The idea behind digital twins – an expression commonly used in industry and the scientific community – is in fact that of mirroring an analog physical object in bits (i.e. a digital physical system that does not resemble the original object in form, but in its behavior) keeping the replica in bits synchronized with the physical one. This allows for various types of retrospective and predictive analyzes on the digital twin that can provide a better insight into the analog one and lead to corrective action when needed.A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a real object or system that is updated from data in real time, it uses machine learning, simulation and reasoning to aid decision making. In other words, a digital twin creates a highly complex virtual model that is an exact replica of a physical object. It then becomes increasingly evident that students and teachers can also benefit from the use of this technology. Schools are encouraged by industry to incorporate pedagogical digital twins into the automation education sector.
Students who have actually used the technology said that physical equipment is expensive and the learning process is slow. Teachers and students believe that digital twin technology could create a bridge between the digital and physical worlds, allowing for timely access to physical system data and thus preventing problems before they occur.
In the classroom, the digital twin technology can be used for experimental and experiential learning.