From the course: Introduction to Digital Twins

A digital twin means better results

From the course: Introduction to Digital Twins

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A digital twin means better results

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(rocket launches) - On April 13, 1970, NASA's Apollo 13 spacecraft some 200,000 miles from Earth and with three astronauts on board, was on its way to a landing on the moon. Suddenly, a spark from an exposed wire in the oxygen tank caused a fire, ripping apart one oxygen tank and damaging another inside the spacecraft. Astronaut Jack Swigert alerted Ground Control with the now-famous words "Houston, we've had a problem." Over the next few days, ground engineers got creative and simulated potential fixes using a physical replica of the spacecraft. When confident with the solution, they sent instructions to the crew who then implemented a workaround. Four days later, Apollo 13 safely returned to Earth. It never made it to the moon. Today, because of high performance computing and remarkable software, physical replicas can be fully simulated digitally. Modeling a physical object virtually is what we call a digital twin. New tools and processes associated with digital twins are becoming game changers in such areas as product lifecycle management, designing buildings, aircraft engines, and wind turbines, modeling smart cities, and improving all aspects of healthcare, from hospitals to the human body. Already between 30 to 50% of large industrial companies are adopting digital twins to improve the results of their organizations. The introduction of the internet of things, low-cost sensors, and ubiquitous network connectivity is further accelerating the ability for data to be harvested and then fed to dynamic digital copies of physical objects. This is helping to run factories better, and to operate and maintain all types of complex machinery. Digital twins are enabling a transformation in manufacturing we call Industry 4.0, an important dimension of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Hi, I'm Jonathan Reichental. - And this is our Introduction to Digital Twins course. - We'll cover the origin of the digital twin concept and describe in detail what it is and why it matters. - We'll explore its roles across Product Lifecycle Management that includes design, production, optimization, and operations and maintenance. - We'll look at skills and demand, and also the cybersecurity and data management challenges. - The business of digital twins is growing rapidly. It's a fascinating and important area for a wide range of stakeholders and industries. - Let's jump in and discover the amazing cyber-physical world of digital twins.

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