This presentation by Sameer Kher was made at the NAFEMS eSeminar "Simulation & Digital Twins - Behind the Buzzwords" on the 2nd of May 2018.

Simulation has long been used to improve the design of nearly every physical product or process by providing the opportunity to evaluate a wide range of alternative designs prior to building physical prototypes. Simulation has also long been used to model different operating scenarios to develop control strategies that are incorporated into control algorithms to improve operations. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has created the potential for a transformational journey in which a simulation model of the product or process is tied through the Internet to sensors capturing data and to actuators controlling its operation.  This is called a digital twin. 

The simulation-based digital twin will help companies analyze smart machines in real-world operating conditions and make informed decisions that will improve their performance far above what is possible today. The combination of machine connectivity with a data lifecycle management platform powered by engineering simulation will enable organizations to perform diagnostics and troubleshooting, determine the ideal maintenance program based on the characteristics of the individual asset, optimize the performance of their assets, and generate insightful data that can be used to improve the next generation of the product. The resulting efficiency and productivity gains will have a dramatic effect on an organization’s bottom line, as well as on the global economy.