Do Virtual Worlds Help In The Planning And Simulation Of Production Processes?

The possible uses of a digital twin are diverse. How do they help with the planning and simulation of production processes?

With game engines and the digital twin, i.e., a digital version of a tangible product in all its variants, companies are already serving all touchpoints of a modern customer journey in a highly automated manner. In this way, companies can meet the increasing demand for individualised content for many touchpoints.

The requirements for quality, quantity, and production speed when creating content such as images, films, and interactive assets can only be met by using the digital twin. But a digital twin can be much more than just an image of a product. And it can be used for much more than just producing beautiful images, films, and interactive marketing communication applications.

For example, the digital twin can also be the digital image of a production line or an entire city. In this way, new possibilities are opened up, from product development and testing to planning processes and procedures through to training purposes. The use of the digital twin in AI systems is also very fascinating.

Digital Twin And AI Systems

The digital twin of a section of motorway or a city is used, for example, in the machine training of AI systems for autonomous driving. In the first step, the reality is captured by scanning. These basic data sets are expanded to include infrastructure and road users in the second step. A digital image of a busy city is created, and this data then forms the basis for machine learning.

AI systems for autonomous driving thus cover millions of kilometres in a purely virtual manner without actually being on the road in reality. Kind of like the Matrix movie. An image of reality is generated by software, which the AI ​​​​system sees as accurate and learns in this reality. If the system is used in actual existence, it can fall back on an enormous amount of knowledge learned.

Virtual training helps to improve AI systems enormously. The crazy thing is, the movement doesn’t have to be real-world speed. Imagine a city where you can make time run 100 times faster at the touch of a button. In this city, an AI system can experience 100 variants of a situation, while it is limited to only one variant in the same amount of time in the real world.

Every experience means learning, so an AI system can learn much faster. This is highly efficient and makes the development of AI systems ready for series production possible in the first place. But the digital twin does not only offer enormous potential for training for AI systems.

Employee Training Takes Place Parallel To The Construction

Imagine a production line is under construction. Future employees can use a VR headset to learn about production processes in the digital twin even before this system is completed. After completion of the building, the operation can start seamlessly since the employee training could take place parallel to the construction.

But remote training is not only engaging in times of a pandemic or for systems that do not yet exist. Let’s take a new employee on an oil platform. By training with the digital twin, he already knows the system and processes inside out before he enters the platform for the first time.

Rescue operations can also be trained safely and effectively like never before. Using the digital twin, training units can be carried out in a more varied and situation-specific manner. Furthermore, the scope and quality of the training can be increased while reducing the required budget. This leads to better qualified and more motivated employees in a safer working environment.

The digital twin makes it possible to simulate individual design and project sections early. This makes planning efficient, increases quality, and ensures enormous planning security. The digital twin can be used, for example, to simulate the flow of people and goods in train stations, airports, and shopping malls or storage and production facilities.

Are the walking and goods routes optimal, are there any backlogs, can paths be shortened? All of this can be tested and optimised virtually because small changes in the system layout can often result in enormous cost savings in a later operation. Furthermore, the planning can be visually experienced in high quality and freely accessible with VR headsets and virtual studios or “classically” in film and image. That makes it a lot more tangible.

It makes decision-making easier and thereby significantly changes processes. But the digital twin does not only offer enormous potential in planning. Construction progress can be recorded digitally and mapped into the digital twin during the construction phase. Complex projects can be tracked in detail at any time without the corresponding experts having to be on site.

Effect Floor: Creation And Support Of The Digital Twin

The Effekt-Etage supports companies in optimising their value chains using the digital twin. And this over the entire process. From advice on analysing potential to controlling change management to operations, i.e., the creation and use of the digital twin.

Over the years, the Effekt-Etage has developed into an international innovation driver in this area and helps companies use the digital twin’s enormous potential optimally.