Welcome to the Complex Systems Age: Digital Twins in Action

Digital Twins are an essential tool of Digital Transformation and are one of the enablers that allow us to deal with complex problems and complex systems. The technical foundations for Digital Twins start with deep domain knowledge in the area of application and fundamentally rely on information and operation technologies. A key ingredient is the unrelenting trend to recast stand-alone mechanical systems with digitally analogs where operations are data driven and managed through sophisticated digital control systems. The consequence is a remarkable explosion of performance improvements and new functionality. The enablers are the emergence of computing power that is inherently distributed and widely available, the virtualization of previously mechanical functions and processes through software, and the hyperconnectivity of organizations, the products, and devices they provide, and consumers. What is new and exciting is the use of Digital Twins to understand the dynamics and flows in complex systems by creating a Metaverse where it is possible to explore actions and decisions faster than real time

The successful implementation strategy for Digital Twins relies just as much on human and organizational factors as it does on the technology. The important aspects of this are committed leadership, development of human capabilities, tools and infrastructure within the enterprise, increased reliance on collaboration within a greater ecosystem, and the realignment of corporate structures to take advantage of new business models and new capabilities. The Chapter illustrates these points in four different areas: supply chains, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. Because missteps are more than possible the Chapter also addresses the precautions to take in implementing Digital Twins. To be competitive and to thrive now and in tomorrow’s world Digital Twins are an important concept for organizations to internalize and an imperative to put into practice now.