Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins

The complexity and number of data streams generated by internal processes exceed the capabilities of most current simulation environments. Consequently, there is a need for the development of more advanced solutions that can handle any number of simultaneous simulations. One of the most promising id...

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Main Authors: Paweł Weichbroth, Krystian Jandy, Jozef Zurada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Telecom
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4001/5/3/39
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author Paweł Weichbroth
Krystian Jandy
Jozef Zurada
author_facet Paweł Weichbroth
Krystian Jandy
Jozef Zurada
author_sort Paweł Weichbroth
collection DOAJ
description The complexity and number of data streams generated by internal processes exceed the capabilities of most current simulation environments. Consequently, there is a need for the development of more advanced solutions that can handle any number of simultaneous simulations. One of the most promising ideas to address these and other challenges is the concept of a Digital Twin (DT), which refers to a digital representation or a virtual model designed to accurately reflect an intended or actual physical product, system, or process (i.e., a physical twin). As a Digital Twin spans the life-cycle of its physical twin, its development and application can bring considerable benefits to organizations seeking to improve existing processes as well as implement new ones. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the value and benefits of Digital Twins. To fill this gap, this study aims to provide a better understanding of this technology by reviewing the contemporary literature, with a particular focus on the documented case studies, as well as reported business and industrial deployments. The results obtained show that Digital Twins have proven beneficial for maintenance, cost reduction, optimization, simulation performance, monitoring, product life-cycle understanding, assessment validation, performance evaluation, product design, and safety and risk mitigation. In addition, when considering the human factor, DTs can facilitate education and training, team collaboration, and decision making. Undeniably, Digital Twins are a game changer for safer, faster, and more sustainable development.
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spelling doaj-art-2b8aaa87d89b4798bda1a461afb928742025-08-20T01:55:52ZengMDPI AGTelecom2673-40012024-08-015377479110.3390/telecom5030039Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital TwinsPaweł Weichbroth0Krystian Jandy1Jozef Zurada2Department of Software Engineering, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, PolandGdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, PolandDepartment of Information Systems, Analytics and Operations, College of Business, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USAThe complexity and number of data streams generated by internal processes exceed the capabilities of most current simulation environments. Consequently, there is a need for the development of more advanced solutions that can handle any number of simultaneous simulations. One of the most promising ideas to address these and other challenges is the concept of a Digital Twin (DT), which refers to a digital representation or a virtual model designed to accurately reflect an intended or actual physical product, system, or process (i.e., a physical twin). As a Digital Twin spans the life-cycle of its physical twin, its development and application can bring considerable benefits to organizations seeking to improve existing processes as well as implement new ones. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the value and benefits of Digital Twins. To fill this gap, this study aims to provide a better understanding of this technology by reviewing the contemporary literature, with a particular focus on the documented case studies, as well as reported business and industrial deployments. The results obtained show that Digital Twins have proven beneficial for maintenance, cost reduction, optimization, simulation performance, monitoring, product life-cycle understanding, assessment validation, performance evaluation, product design, and safety and risk mitigation. In addition, when considering the human factor, DTs can facilitate education and training, team collaboration, and decision making. Undeniably, Digital Twins are a game changer for safer, faster, and more sustainable development.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4001/5/3/39sustainable developmentdigital twinvirtual twinvaluebenefit
spellingShingle Paweł Weichbroth
Krystian Jandy
Jozef Zurada
Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
Telecom
sustainable development
digital twin
virtual twin
value
benefit
title Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
title_full Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
title_fullStr Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
title_full_unstemmed Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
title_short Toward Sustainable Development: Exploring the Value and Benefits of Digital Twins
title_sort toward sustainable development exploring the value and benefits of digital twins
topic sustainable development
digital twin
virtual twin
value
benefit
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4001/5/3/39
work_keys_str_mv AT pawełweichbroth towardsustainabledevelopmentexploringthevalueandbenefitsofdigitaltwins
AT krystianjandy towardsustainabledevelopmentexploringthevalueandbenefitsofdigitaltwins
AT jozefzurada towardsustainabledevelopmentexploringthevalueandbenefitsofdigitaltwins