Executive Summary

A Digital Representation Of A Physical Thing

Digital twins are digital representations of physical assets, systems, or processes.

They help to detect, prevent, predict, and optimize the physical environment through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), real-time analytics, visualization, and simulation tools. Conceptually, digital twins have been around for decades.

A forerunner was used in the Apollo 13 mission to the moon in 1970.

It has taken nearly 20 years for digital twins to mature, and though they have grown up quickly in recent years, there is a lot more growing to do.

A Real-World Tool

Digital twinsingest data and use it to create representations of individual assets or groups of assets, ranging from parts, machines, entire plants, or a whole physical infrastructure. Soon, the number and sophistication of applications of digital twins will grow. Digital twins of the human body will be used to revolutionize healthcare. They are now being adopted to model climate change, with the European Commission working on developing a digital twin of the Earth.

To truly fulfill their potential, digital twins must quickly evolve into a meaningful construct and not just another technology concept in the broader Internet of Things (IoT). Digital twins are a tool with various applications, from factories to government to hospitals. They can be used to understand and respond to rapidly changing circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital twins have supported organizations modeling how to respond to the crisis.

Leaders

It is still early days in digital twins' journey to adulthood. We list the current leaders in some of the most important segments of our digital twins value chain: - Digital twin platforms: Dassault Systèmes, Bentley Systems, PTC, IBM, Ansys, Siemens, GE, Microsoft, Atkins.

• Virtual and augmented reality: Unity, Epic Games, Dassault Systèmes, PTC, Northrop Grumman, Orca Health.

• Visualization and simulation software: Unity, Epic Games, Dassault Systèmes, Bentley Systems, Ansys, Atkins, Iotics, Cityzenith, Slingshot Simulations.

• Services for digital twins: Dassault Systèmes, Bentley Systems, GE, Siemens, IBM, Accenture, Bosch, Atkins, Schneider Electric, Mott McDonald, Arup, Tesla, KBR.

As digital twins technology grows both in age and complexity, other players will undoubtedly come to the fore.