The evolution of digital twin technology and the global investment trend in it heralds a significant and positive change in many ways. A digital twin is a technology that creates a digital replica of an actual physical object or system to enable a variety of simulations and analytics. Digital twins were first pioneered by NASA in 2010 to simulate physical models of spacecraft, but they were not immediately adapted across a wide range of industries. Their use has since spread slowly, with General Electric applying them to manufacturing, and with advances in technologies such as IoT, AI, big data, and telecommunications, many companies are adopting digital twins as a tool to increase operational efficiency. Digital twins have the potential to drive innovation, especially in highly precise and complex industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, and many developed countries are actively investing in digital twin technology to enhance their manufacturing capabilities.
The U.S. government announced that it has applied for $285 million in Semiconductor Act funding for a lab to develop digital twins to enhance semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. The funding will be used to establish a lab specializing in semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and testing processes, and will also be used to support facilities and train the next generation of U.S. workers and researchers to use digital twins to advance R&D and chip production.
The U.S. government's investment is aimed at optimizing and improving the efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing processes, which will help increase the nation's technological competitiveness and strengthen supply chain reliability. "Digital twin-based research can accelerate the design of U.S. chip development and manufacturing concepts by leveraging new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and significantly reduce costs by improving capacity planning, production optimization, facility upgrades, and real-time process coordination," according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, and innovations in their manufacturing processes can have a positive impact on a wide range of industries.
The UK government has announced the establishment of a £37.6 million national digital twin center in the Belfast area. The center aims to accelerate industry adoption of digital twins by providing access to cutting-edge technology, reducing the cost of creating digital twins, and developing workforce skills. The UK government hopes that hosting the digital center will foster collaboration and innovation across industry, academia, and the public sector.
The investment will be used to fund core technology research and digital capability building, which is expected to help boost productivity through digital transformation and support the achievement of zero carbon emissions targets. In addition, the establishment of the Digital Twin Center is expected to create 230 new jobs in the manufacturing sector across the UK. The UK Digital Twin Center is scheduled to open later this year and will help companies across the UK access the expertise, technology, and resources they need to reduce design and manufacturing costs, achieve their zero-carbon goals, and gain a competitive advantage globally.
The growing interest in digital twin technology across the globe is due to the following key advantages.
Beamo is a digital twin solution that brings the real world into a virtual 3D space to help you monitor and manage facilities or assets from a distance. With a single platform to manage many surveys, grant access by user and team, and more, it's ideal for organizations that manage many assets with a variety of stakeholders.
Beamo quickly and easily creates a digital twin of the site, which helps solve the problem when large distances or a large number of facilities make site visits costly and time-consuming. Beamo's indoor positioning technology with V-Slam enables mapping indoors where GPS is not available, which is why it is being used not only on construction sites, but also in a variety of industries, including facility management companies, data centers, and smart factories.
Beamo customer SeAH Changwon Special Steel (SeAH CSS) is a leader in the specialty steel industry, producing advanced industrial steel and high-value specialty alloys, and has long been driving digital transformation across its organization. To monitor and maintain its facilities more safely and efficiently, the company wanted to bring situations and conditions from the physical world into the virtual world. To digitally twin the interior of its factory facilities and small rolling stock (RSB) machines, the company turned to Beamo. Using 360-degree cameras and the Beamo app, the company captured a 360-degree view of the large factory interior and connected IoT sensors to create a real-time monitoring system.
Engineers can now check the sensor status of rolling machines from the office without having to visit the site. If a problem occurs in a specific area or equipment, they can immediately locate the problem within the digital twin and take action. In addition, the customer can attach safety tips, training materials, equipment manuals, etc. to the digital twin built with 360 view through the Tag function to facilitate safety training for employees.
Digital twin technology is seeing increased global investment and interest as it enables operational efficiency, innovation, risk reduction, and sustainability across a wide range of industries. Large-scale investments in the U.S. and U.K. are heralding a major shift in manufacturing industry innovation, and solutions like Beamo are being utilized in a variety of industries by making it easy and fast to create digital twins.