The history of the digital twin

 History of digital twin technology (futurebridge, 2020)

The first encounter with some form of digital twin was used by NASA in the 1960s. In the beginning of the space exploration missions, they build replicas at ground level of each new spacecraft. All the replicas that were built at ground level were used for study and simulations for the flight crews. The replica of the Apollo 13 from 1970 was also used for some more tests and to simulate the conditions on board. This one in particular was a more important replica because with the normal launch, something was wrong with the oxygen tanks. In order to bring the astronauts back to earth safely, they used sensor data and some simulators to evaluate the failure of the replica of Apollo 13. This use of the replica of the Apollo 13 could be seen as the first use of a Digital Twin. (ibm, z.d.)

In 1982, AutoCAD was launched. This was the first software for drawing and modeling in 2D and 3D. This software grew in popularity over time, and it received some great updates that expanded its capabilities. Eventually, it was possible with AutoCAD to have some small simulations.

In 1991, the idea of digital twin technology was first brought to life. David Gelernter wrote the book Mirror Worlds. In his book, he explained the future representation of the real world in digital form.

In 2002 Dr. Michael Grieves (at the university of Michigan) started with the applying of the concept of Digital Twin to manufacturers and the software concept. It started with a presentation about product lifecycle management which contained a diversity of elements familiar with the digital twin. The technology was about; real space, virtual space and the spreading of data and information flow between real and virtual space. (bouwendnederland, z.d) (ibm, z.d.)

The digital twin has adopted by Nasa in 2011 for the conceptional basis in de astronautics an aerospace technology. Nasa is using it in their technologic roadmap (John Vickers) and proposals for sustainable space exploration. (Shafto, et al., 2010)

In 2015 General Electric (GE) introduced the digital twin in their Digital Wind Farm. Because every Hill and wind has an own ‘DNA’ which means that in every place the wind flows different positions and speeds. GE introduced the technology for creating the best Wind Farm technology for the different places they placed those Wind turbine because there are many different Wind turbine technologies. The integration of the digital twin has led to a increase of revenue of 20%, creating around 100 million dollar in revenue. (GE, 2015)

At the Analyst Explore Industry Trends Expo in 2017 at Gartner IT Symposium. The digital twin technology was listed in the top 10 of tech trends. (Panetta, 2016)

Since 2018 a lot of companies have accepted that digital twin can boost their performance in their production locations. Example of companies which are using digital twin: Bosch, Cisco, GE, Microsoft, Siemens, ABB, Amazon and Nvidia. (blackridgeresearch, 2022)

Sources:

https://www.aaebv.com/news/simulations-virtual-reality-digital-twins-and-augmented-reality-supporting-automation-and-production-solutions-pt-2/

https://www.futurebridge.com/industry/perspectives-mobility/application-of-digital-twin-in-industrial-manufacturing/

What is a digital twin? | IBM

The Mysterious History of Digital Twin Technology and Who Created It (challenge.org)

https://www.bouwendnederland.nl/nu-bouwen-aan-morgen/voorbeelden-uit-de-praktijk/digital-twin

https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartners-top-10-technology-trends-2017

https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/501321main_TA11-MSITP-DRAFT-Nov2010-A1.pdf

https://www.ge.com/renewableenergy/stories/meet-the-digital-wind-farm

 

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