With the advent of Industry 4.0, which focuses on real-time connected ecosystems, it has become pertinent to improve collaboration among business functions quickly to respond to any change in the industry value chain. Digital Twin fulfills this need for collaboration by bringing new-age technologies like the cloud, Internet of Things, AR/VR, 3D drawing solutions, and simulation software together. Building a digital twin of a product picked up the pace as it was very helpful in expanding the service portfolio through value-added services and increasing market share by introducing a new model of products faster in the market. Over a period, the product digital twin extended to plant assets and process level to provide a virtual representation of every moment of plant, process, and people connected to deliver an SKU.
The digital twin framework helps create a 360-degree view of the process and the product by leveraging technologies such as IoT, big data analytics, and machine learning coupled with cognitive analytics and simulation techniques. The framework enables the identification of any possible flaws before the deployment of physical processes. Virtual spaces and objects are typically 2X-10X less expensive and time consuming as compared to their physical counterparts. Pilot process digital twins provide real-time feedback and help in supporting the implementation. This provides a significant leap toward operational excellence.