Interscale Content Hub – The idea of digital twins has changed how businesses operate, making it easier to manage assets and processes. But what about the pros and cons of digital twins?
As we all know, there’s a lot of hype around digital twins (DTs). Digital twins have been hailed as a game-changer and are set to revolutionize the industry.
But are there really no drawbacks to digital twins? What’s the controversy surrounding digital twins?
So, let’s have a fair and balanced discussion, shall we?
Pros of Digital Twins
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
Digital twins are a great way to boost efficiency and productivity across various industries. They let you monitor things in real time and do predictive maintenance, which is really useful.
By creating a digital copy of physical assets, digital twins allow us to keep an eye on things and test out how things work, so we can spot problems before they become serious.
As an example, in manufacturing, digital twins can help optimize production processes, improve product quality, and reduce waste.
Hazal Şimşek’s report on “Discover Top 8 Digital Twin Trends in 2024,” highlights how companies like Unilever have successfully used AI-powered digital twins to monitor manufacturing processes, which has led to productivity gains and significant cost savings.
On top of that, digital twins help us make small adjustments to how things are done, which cuts down on energy use and makes equipment last longer.
As a reference on the benefits of DTs, you can read “Forget Time Machines – Digital Twins in Construction Show You the Future.”
Improved Decision-Making
Digital twins are great for making data-driven decisions because they let you simulate different scenarios and analyze the results.
This is especially useful in complex environments like healthcare and renewable energy. In healthcare, digital twins can model patient-specific treatments and predict outcomes, which helps to improve patient care.
According to Andrea Willige from the World Economic Forum in “Digital twins: What are they and why do they matter?,” the digital twins are increasingly used in city planning to simulate and optimize urban infrastructure, supporting better strategic planning and resource allocation.
In the world of renewable energy, digital twins help optimize performance and safety by enabling real-time monitoring and predictive analysis.
With this kind of DTs approach, the stakeholders can improve decision-making processes for energy management.
Cost Reduction and Risk Management
Using digital twins can save a lot of money by reducing the need for physical prototypes and making it easier to maintain things before they break.
By testing new designs and processes in a virtual environment, companies can avoid the high costs and risks associated with physical trials.
Dr. Joanne Tanner and her colleagues explain in the digital twin factsheet “Digital twin technology and how it works” that digital twins in the oil and gas industry have led to better production efficiency and less maintenance time by combining real-time data with AI-driven insights.
Plus, digital twins help companies manage risk better by letting them know when something might go wrong early on. This lets them take action quickly and avoid costly disruptions.
Innovation and Future Opportunities
Digital twins are really useful for coming up with new ideas and services because they provide a platform for exploring different business models.
They let you create really personalized products and services. Look at the automotive industry, where digital twins are used to design vehicles that fit each customer’s preferences.
It’s great that we can now simulate and test designs virtually, as it speeds up product development and gets products to market more quickly.
On top of that, combining digital twins with cutting-edge tech like AI and IoT is helping to make smart cities and autonomous systems a reality.
Janine Arantes’ discussion on “Digital twins and the terminology of “personalization” or “personalized learning” in educational policy: a discussion paper” points out how digital twins can help in education.
The DTs can create immersive learning environments that adapt to individual student needs, which is great for fostering innovative educational practices.
Cons of Digital Twins
High Implementation Costs
The switch to digital twin technology often requires a big upfront investment, which can be a major hurdle for many organizations, especially small to medium-sized businesses.
As Dr. Joanne Tanner and her colleagues have shown, building the right digital infrastructure, integrating different data sources, and maintaining the digital twin over time can be expensive.
The financial burden doesn’t end with the initial setup. It also extends to continuous updates and data management to ensure the digital twin stays accurate and useful.
A report from McKinsey in “Digital twins: When and why to use one,” says businesses must be sure they’ll get value from these investments.
The technology needs high-quality data and a lot of effort to deliver accurate and actionable insights.
Data Security and Privacy Concerns
Digital twins rely a lot on real-time data from physical assets, which raises some big questions about data security and privacy.
Janine Arantes talked about educational policy and said that digital twins need to collect a lot of data, which can include sensitive information. This means that we need to make sure that we have good cybersecurity measures in place to protect against breaches and unauthorized access.
We need to make sure that the data is safe and that we’re following the rules, like GDPR. If there’s a breach, it could mean that sensitive information is at risk and that our operations could be disrupted.
On top of that, we’ve got to make sure our data is secure at all times. That means keeping an eye on things and updating our security protocols to keep up with the latest cyber threats.
So yes, making sure everything’s secure is a big job for everyone involved in projects that use digital twins.
Technical Complexity and Skill Requirements
If you want to create and maintain digital twins, you’ll need to have some pretty advanced technical skills and expertise.
Organizations need people who know what they’re doing to manage the integration of technologies like IoT, AI, and machine learning.
The technical complexity can be a big challenge, especially for companies that don’t have access to that kind of specialized expertise.
As Arantes points out, getting digital twins up and running in schools, for instance, requires a lot of technical know-how, which many institutions may find challenging.
What’s more is how McKinsey in “Digital twins: How to build the first twin” points out that even organizations with different levels of digital maturity have trouble putting together the core data products and making sure the data is good quality, which are both important for building effective digital twins.
Dependence and Overreliance Issues
While digital twins are great, there’s a risk of getting too dependent on them. This can mean that decisions aren’t always made based on reality.
Organizations might get too hooked on digital simulations, missing out on the real-world factors that the digital twin might not fully account for.
Arantes points out that the push for technology-led personalization could overshadow the importance of human-led personalized learning, which could end up undermining the role of educators and their expertise.
We always need to be aware of how digital twins can become obsolete over time if there’s no ongoing maintenance and updates.
As a quick reference on how DT is changing the game in so many industries, you can read “How Digital Twin Technology is Revolutionizing & Avoids You Stuck in Past.”
What Are the Challenges of Digital Twins?
One of the biggest challenges is making sure all the pieces fit together seamlessly in the software environment.
In their comprehensive review “Digital Twin Technology Challenges and Applications: A Comprehensive Review,” Botín-Sanabria et al. points out that it’s tough to keep all the data from different sensors and devices in sync so that you can create an accurate digital replica of your physical assets.
This kind of integration requires a lot of computing power and reliable data processing, which is a big challenge for many companies.
Another big challenge is keeping a digital twin up to date over time. Why is that? Handling the data volume of digital twins requires a lot of care to keep it accurate and useful.
Botín-Sanabria and colleagues talk about the need for top-notch data management and a solid data cleaning process to keep simulations and predictions on the right track.
When it comes to the human factor, we also need to think about the technical skills and expertise needed to implement and maintain digital twins. This is another thing that Botín-Sanabria and colleagues talk about in their review.
The technical complexity and the need for special skills can really slow down the adoption of digital twins, especially in companies that don’t have access to that kind of expertise.
Finally, it can be tough to figure out how to adopt and use digital twins effectively, especially when there are cultural and organizational changes involved.
This also means making changes to processes and building a culture that supports digital transformation.
This kind of cultural shift means rethinking traditional workflows and creating an environment that’s great for innovation and tech adoption.
Money is also a big factor in the difficulties of implementing digital twins.
The upfront costs, which include setting up the necessary digital infrastructure and integrating different data sources, are pretty high.
Not to mention, keeping digital twins up to date and running smoothly costs money.
Botín-Sanabria et al. point out how these high implementation costs are a big obstacle, especially for small to medium-sized businesses.
As you can see, BIM and digital twins can be pretty complex, but we at Interscale offer the solutions you need.
Our custom BIM and digital twin management services can make your project workflows more efficient, improve collaboration, and help you make better decisions.
By using cutting-edge digital twin tech, we act as a helpful system, making sure data is always up to date and using predictive analytics to keep your projects on track and within budget.
K2LD Architects, one of our great clients, saw firsthand how our BIM management services transformed the way they handled their big projects.
We get it—it can be tough to connect the dots between the physical and digital worlds. Let us help you make your project a resounding success.
If you want to know more about how we can help with your BIM and digital twin needs, kindly read our Interscale BIM Management Support Services page.
We’d also love to have a chat about your project needs. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us whenever it’s convenient for you.
We’d be happy to schedule a meeting at a time that works for you. We’re here for you 24/7 to help you achieve project excellence.
In Closing
Yes, the digital twins are great for boosting efficiency, improving decision-making, cutting costs, and encouraging innovation.
But, as they say, with big benefits come big efforts. We’ve got to tackle some big challenges, like high costs, data security issues, technical complexity, and the risk of overreliance.
At the end of the day, getting to grips with the pros and cons of digital twins will help your company make the most of the benefits while managing any potential risks.
