Digital Twin: Generalization, Characterization, and Implementation

Abstract

Digital Twin is one of the promising digital technologies being developed at present to support digital transformation efforts in multiple industries. While the concept of a Digital Twin is nearly 15 years old, it continues to evolve as it expands to new industries and use cases. This has resulted in a continually increasing variety of definitions that threatens to dilute the concept and lead to ineffective implementations of the technology. There is a need for a consolidated and generalized definition, with clearly established characteristics to distinguish what constitutes a Digital Twin and what does not. This paper reviews 65 Digital Twin definitions given in the literature over the past ten years to propose a generalized definition that encompasses the breadth of options available and provide a detailed characterization which includes criteria to distinguish the Digital Twin from other digital technologies. After establishing the key elements of the Digital Twin, a process and considerations for the implementation of Digital Twins is presented, highlighting the main considerations for Digital Twin realization, enabling technologies, current challenges for practical implementation, and opportunities for future development.

Digital Twin Definitions

• An overview of some of the varied lexicon found in the literature is provided, based on 65 different definitions found in the literature.
• In addition to providing a concise statement of what a Digital Twin is, most of the definitions provided also include descriptions of selected specific attributes of the Digital Twin, including: representation fidelity, data collection/exchange, synchronization frequency, and model/simulation capabilities.
• After reviewing the breadth of definitions in the literature, a consolidated and generalized definition for a Digital Twin is proposed here as “a virtual representation of a physical system (and its associated environment and processes) that is updated through the exchange of information between the physical and virtual systems.”
• This definition is general enough to embody the provided definitions, yet restricts itself to only the essential elements while avoiding use case-specific Digital Twin characteristics or terminology.

Acknowledgments

• This research was partly supported by funding from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The support is gratefully acknowledged.