As water utilities continue their digital journey, they hear terms like “Digital Twin” and wonder if someone is going to clone them…
As members of the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN), our team at Eramosa are working as part of the Digital Twin Work Group, along with other industry leaders from utilities and the private sector “to develop a common strategy for developing Digital Twin technology for global water utilities, providing a means for managing operations and assets in real-time for greater operational efficiency, enhanced lifecycle asset management, and reduced costs.” (PDF – SWAN Digital Twin Work Group Overview)
The definition of a Digital Twin can vary, however there are two that we think provide guidance as a starting point for our clients.
IBM
“A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning and reasoning to help decision making.”
(What is a digital twin? – IBM)
SWAN
A Digital Twin is “a dynamic digital representation of real-world entity(s) and their behaviours using models with static and dynamic data that enables insights and interactions to drive actionable and improved outcomes.”
(Digital Twin Work Group – SWAN Forum)
If you are asking yourself, where do I start, or how does Eramosa fit into the Digital Twin, then you are on the right site. Our team understands the industries we work in, the data that is collected, the software applications that are used by our partners, and how to integrate with new and emerging solutions that can be used to create a digital twin of your system.
The Digital Twin starts with the real-world equipment and sensors deployed throughout your network. This in turn creates the real-time data that feeds into the Digital Twin. Our team works with instruments and sensors, IoT solutions, operational technology applications (LIMS, CMMS, GIS), and SCADA systems to help you monitor, control and manage your assets, and collect the data required for use within and external to your applications.
Digital Twins require data with attributes including spatial, temporal, or transactional that has been validated and cleansed. Data coming from the applications must be ingested and integrated as well as managed before it can be used for analytics using data driven and physics-based models. The outputs from the models are then used in simulation and decision support tools, providing the end user with a virtual representation of their systems that can be used to gain greater insights, drive change and improve their operations.
If you are not sure about Digital Twins and how you might get started, give us a call. We would be pleased to join you on this journey.