Schlauer Raum Blog

A look into the future of production based on data

Digital twins enable manufacturing companies to simulate and analyze the entire value chain under realistic conditions. But a Digital Twin is more than just a replica.

Digital Twin: The best of two worlds

Being able to look into the future is probably the greatest wish of every entrepreneur. Knowing today what customers want tomorrow. To see the efficiency of investments before they are made.

There are no glass spheres that allow a view into the future. But there is something that is certainly magical in its complexity – and yet real: simulation based on data.

Same, but different

A Digital Twin is, so to speak, a technology for the visualization of production processes: It creates an identical, digital image of a process.

Sounds simple at first – it is, if the basis is right. It’s simply a matter of connecting a real object and its digital counterpart in such a way that the virtual object can provide a comprehensive picture of the status quo using data transmitted in real time from sensors and other data sources, and ultimately generate a Digital Twin.

Data management is essential

However, one thing is clear: the more comprehensive the process to be mapped, the more data must be fed in – and the more important integrated data management is.

Due to the enormous technological advances in the areas of data generation and data management, digital twins are becoming increasingly close to reality.

As a result, the real and the digital world are merging more and more – and the digital twin is becoming the decisive component of the digital transformation to the factory of the future.

Step by step

However, a Digital Twin is not something that is generated once and works forever. Just as processes change in a production, this change must also be reflected in the digital twin. With the use of artificial intelligence, it is possible to develop the Digital Twin semi-automatically.

All in all, the success of the Digital Twin depends on one thing: high data quality with an integrated management approach.

There is no doubt that the Digital Twin technology offers enormous potential for production. However, it is important not to take the second step before the first: Setting up a good database with an intelligent data management approach has to be the first step. Because an image can only be as good as the information used to create that likeness.

Would you like to learn more about the Digital Twin in production? Click here for more information!