Digital Twin Systems that collaborate and adapt
Digital Twin Systems are only valuable as long as they accurately reflect reality. This becomes increasingly challenging when data, models and processes evolve, and when multiple organisations contribute to the same Digital Twin. How can organisations prevent predictions from becoming less reliable over time? TNO develops Digital Twin lifecycle management solutions and Digital Twin Systems that enable organisations to keep Digital Twins reliable, scalable and up to date.
Why must a Digital Twin remain reliable?
A Digital Twin is a digital representation of a physical asset, process, or environment that can be monitored, analysed, and predicted using data and models. Digital Twins can support critical decision-making within organisations. That is why it is essential that they remain reliable and can respond effectively to change and real-time data.
In practice, changes can affect the performance of a Digital Twin. If organisations do not manage these changes properly, the reliability of predictions can quickly decline. Over time, this reduces the value and benefits of Digital Twinning.
What is a Digital Twin System?
A Digital Twin System combines and integrates multiple models so that they complement each other and together form a single, reliable system. Such a system is better equipped to deal with change, for example changes in an organisation’s ICT infrastructure or evolving business requirements. This makes it easier and faster to develop new Digital Twins or modify existing Digital Twin applications.
What is Multi-Party Digital Twinning?
A Digital Twin can serve a single organisation, but many real-world challenges cross organisational and sector boundaries. Multi-Party Digital Twinning enables different organisations to bring together their data, models, expertise, and digital services to understand and manage a shared system without requiring one party to provide or control everything.
-
In Change2Twin, we helped manufacturing SMEs across Europe access and combine expertise and technologies to develop Digital Twin solutions suited to their needs.
-
In BioDT, research infrastructures and domain experts brought together biodiversity data and models to understand how ecosystems respond to environmental change.
-
Through DTO-BioFlow, we help marine data providers make biodiversity data interoperable and usable within the European Digital Twin Ocean.
-
In transport and logistics, ZEFES brings together vehicles, infrastructure, logistics operations and real-time data to support the transition to zero-emission freight. Its follow-up, FLEXMCS, extends this collaboration to charging infrastructure, renewable energy, grid capacity and fleet needs to support scalable megawatt-charging solutions.
-
In energy, REFORMERS brings together producers, consumers, storage, and energy infrastructure to support integrated Renewable Energy Valleys.
-
In wind energy, ReliaBlade 2-NL combines sensor measurements, structural models, and operational knowledge from technology providers, researchers, manufacturers, and wind-farm operators. Its Digital Twin continuously assesses the condition and remaining lifetime of turbine blades, helping operators move from scheduled maintenance towards condition-based and predictive maintenance.
For participating organisations, Multi-Party Digital Twinning means being able to use capabilities beyond their own organisation: contributing the data, models, or expertise they have, accessing capabilities they do not, and jointly creating solutions to problems that no single organisation or Digital Twin can address alone.
From individual Digital Twins to collaboration
Read this paper as a practical starting point for developing Digital Twin applications that remain useful over time, both within your organisation and across partners, suppliers, and clients. It explains how data, models, workflows, computing and governance can work together while maintaining interoperability, ownership and control.
What opportunities do Digital Twin Systems create?
Digital Twin Systems can be used by multiple stakeholders for a wide range of purposes. For businesses, they can contribute to cost reduction, increased productivity, and improved sustainability. For example, Digital Twins can be used to manage a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to reuse and recycling.
Digital Twins can also help address major societal challenges. They can provide insight into the effects of pandemics, conflicts, and climate change, while supporting the exploration of solutions and risk mitigation strategies.
For critical infrastructure, Digital Twins can help predict risks and threats. Within supply chains, they can support faster responses to disruptions and changing supply and demand conditions.
New business models for Digital Twins
Digital Twins are becoming increasingly valuable assets for organisations. As a result, new business models are emerging around the development, exchange, and use of Digital Twins. In the future, marketplaces may develop where Digital Twins can be exchanged, similar to existing marketplaces for CAD models. TNO is working on collaborative business models for Digital Twin Systems.
Standards for Digital Twin Systems
Standards help Digital Twin Systems work together effectively across technologies, organisations, and domains. They often emerge from practical needs for interoperability and collaboration.
TNO supports the development of useful standards by combining hands-on experience with active participation in international initiatives such as the OMG Digital Twin Consortium and SWAN, as well as formal standardisation activities including NEN/ISO SC 41. Experience from domain-specific, application-specific and cross-cutting Digital Twin solutions helps identify where standards are needed, while standardisation efforts in turn inform how we design and support interoperable technological, operational and organisational solutions.
What does TNO do in the field of Digital Twins?
TNO develops methods, technologies and guidance for integrating data, models, and Digital Twins into reliable, interoperable systems. We focus on orchestration, collaboration and accessibility, helping organisations combine expertise and digital capabilities, scale solutions across domains, and deploy Digital Twin applications effectively in practice. Interested in working with us? Get in touch.
Contact us
-
Paolo Pileggi
Functie:Senior consultantPaolo is a digital twinning and AI specialist with application experience in many domains and sector, including water, industry, and ICT. His formal training is in simulation and modelling concurrent systems, and his current ambition is to help improve technology absorption of responsible advanced digitalisation solutions in the primary business process of large organisations.
-
Standplaats:Groningen - Zernikelaan
-
Email:Email Paolo
-
-
Syrine Ben Aziza
Functie:ScientistSyrine is a Scientist and Digital Twinning Portfolio Manager at TNO. She has a background in Digital Twins, AI, interoperability and data sharing. In her work, she focuses on developing and coordinating Digital Twinning solutions across multiple application domains.
-
Standplaats:Groningen - Zernikelaan
-
Email:Email Syrine
-
Get inspired
Global Digital Collaboration
New blueprint helps organisations share data reliably
Working towards better risk prediction for cardiac patients through secure data collaboration
Assuring Digital Identity
Rules as Code
