Read this article by our ambassador Josué Iglesias
The main objective of the Change2Twin project is to facilitate and promote the development of Digital Twin technologies. In a previous article, I already analysed the key role of its marketplace (Change2Twin Marketplace), as a public platform to promote and showcase Digital Twin-enabling technologies. Now, I would like to focus on a communicational dimension of the project (although indirectly related to technology): the Change2Twin YouTube channel and its key role as an effective disseminator of the project and of very interesting concepts related to Digital Twins. Whether a newcomer to the Digital Twin world, an expert looking to expand knowledge from the frontline or a manager wanting to learn how Change2Twin can help your business, either way, the Change2Twin YouTube channel is the perfect place to start.
Playlists to choose from
The Change2Twin YouTube channel currently has 41 videos (as of November 2022), grouped into 6 playlists:
- Change2Twin
- Getting ready
- Pilot experiments
- Assessment Open Call
- Deployment Open Call
- Tech providers
The channel addresses a wide range of topics: lessons learned and recommendations from case studies, information about the open calls (for assessment or for development), experts’ opinion talks, etc.
From all the currently available videos, I feel it is interesting to highlight three of them, basic to internalise all the capabilities and advantages of Digital Twin technologies. From generic to specific, they are:
Common understanding of digital twins in manufacturing [25’]
Starting from the premise that for many SMEs it is difficult to internalise what a Digital Twin really is, this video helps identify how Digital Twins fit into the so-called smart industry (or Industry 4.0) and, more importantly, how to generate business value from Digital Twin technologies.
Further insights include the distinction between “digitalisation” and “smart industry” (see next figure), the numerous examples used, the parallel relationship between the lifecycles of real products and the Digital Twins and the importance of internalising what Digital Twins really are in order to be able to identify where this technology can have the greatest impact on business.
The video is presented by Jeroen Broekhuijsen, Change2Twin’s Technical Coordinator and Business Consultant at TNO, with more than 15 years of experience within Digital Twins.
Barriers to digital twins and enabling technologies [20’]
Starting with an introduction to 9 common barriers and 5 different mitigations that could arise in the development of Digital Twins (see figures below), Oliver Barrowclough (from SINTEF) outlines in this video the different technological components in which the design, implementation and deployment of Digital Twins can be structured.
Initially, the importance of system modelling with the key role played by Computer-Aided (CAx) and Reverse Engineering (RE) tools are discussed. After modelling, the need to keep the models up to date is addressed, usually relying on sensors (physical, virtual) to acquire the real state of the manufacturing processes. Then, a very interesting section of the video deals with how to integrate intelligence into the Digital Twins (where Oliver discusses various cutting-edge AI techniques). Pros and cons of potential execution environments (IoT devices, edge or cloud) are also discussed. Finally, the need to interact with the Digital Twins and the various mechanisms available (dashboards, low-code programming, VR/AR, etc.) are analysed.
Standards in digital twins [20’]
Starting from the need for interoperability between Digital Twin subsystems, this video highlights the technological heterogeneity of Digital Twin-based deployments (sensors, AI approaches, protocols, forms of data visualisation; see figure below) concluding that the successful implementation of all potential interactions is greatly facilitated if considering standards.
The speaker (Jochen Haenisch, from JOTNE) presents a video from the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) where the advantages of using standards in the context of industrial data acquisition and processing are presented.
When talking about examples of standards, Jochen refers to the EFFRA website (European Factories of the Future Research Association), whose WiKi documents a large number of standards in detail.
Jochen confirms the commitment of the Change2Twin project to the use of standards, referring, for example, to the deliverable “D1.2. First report on standards relevant for Digital Twins”, which highlights the role of standards in Digital Twins and contributes to good practice for Digital Twin implementations.
The video also mentions, as an example, two of the tools that can be found in the Change2Twin Marketplace to address interoperability and Long Term Archiving and Retrieval (LOTAR) requirements: PLM and SDM platforms.
Finally, it is also important to stress the insights that Jochen offers, based on his extensive experience on how to integrate standards into Digital Twins projects.
Watch Change2Twin videos
Note that these three videos are just a small representation of a Change2Twin YouTube channel with lots of information. And remember that these videos are provided to help you to get prepared for the upcoming Deployment Open calls, where companies can apply for funding to deploy their Digital Twins.
Article by Change2Twin Ambassador Josué Parentesis