For many businesses, the factory of the future is already here. Robotics, sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and more are integrated throughout plants everywhere, across industries. And behind this increasingly intelligent industrial world, you’ll also find electronic representational models running parallel with the physical pieces of equipment.

What Exactly Is Digital Twin?

This type of advanced modeling powered by connected sensor data and IoT is known today as “digital twin.” It allows companies to build data-rich models of everything from airplane turbines to escalators and electronic door handles.

Created by software engineers and data scientists with an understanding of mechanical form and function, a digital twin can run concurrently with a physical product to constantly monitor its life cycle. Digital twin can also create simulations that apply artificial intelligence to “learn” how to mirror more realistic or lifelike conditions.