Real-World Uses for Digital Twins

From mapping all of Singapore’s roads to digitizing a 200,000 m² museum, Daniel Kruimel of Woolpert walks through real-world digital twin case studies across Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East. The projects are diverse, but the mission is consistent.. create scalable digital ecosystems that streamline planning, inspection, and decision-making. Whether you're building digital twins for infrastructure, government, or facilities, this presentation offers a front-row look at what’s working. Key Takeaways 🔵 Singapore’s National 3D Map now supports solar planning, mobility analysis, and crash reconstructions using MLS point clouds 🔵 Port of Mackay saved thousands by enabling remote asset inspection, reducing physical site visits from hours to minutes 🔵 NSW’s Department of Education is using digital twins to accelerate preschool construction and enable virtual site simulations 🔵 The Louvre Abu Dhabi now has an LOD 500 verified as-built model integrated with an asset management system 🔵 Digital twins unlock value when more stakeholders are involved early, and when the procurement model supports agility 🔵 “Start with the foundation. The use cases will come.” 🎯 Watch the full presentation here: https://lnkd.in/gvuaPf4T

Digital twins—virtual patient models powered by real-time data—could redefine how we approach sleep apnea and its cardiovascular fallout, like atrial fibrillation (AFib). Sleep apnea affects millions, often undiagnosed, and its intermittent hypoxia is a known trigger for AFib, with studies linking it to a 2-4x increased risk. Enter the computer: a bedside system processing sleep metrics—airway dynamics, SpO2, heart rhythm—via wearables or smart devices. Imagine a digital twin running on that computer, synthesizing data into a personalized 3D simulation. It tracks a patient’s sleep nightly, flagging apnea events and modeling their impact on atrial electrophysiology. Early data might predict AFib risk years ahead, guiding interventions—CPAP optimization, lifestyle adjustments, or preemptive cardiology referrals. This tech, rooted in industrial engineering, is just the beginning in healthcare. Challenges—data integration, validation, privacy—are real, but so is the potential: reducing the 30% of AFib cases tied to apnea, per some estimates. For clinicians, it’s a tool to bridge sleep and cardiac care; for researchers, a hypothesis engine. Could digital twins shift us from reactive to predictive? Curious for your thoughts, especially from sleep medicine and cardiology experts

Your manufacturing plant is already talking. The question is—are you listening? Every second, your production line sends invisible signals: Where it's slowing down. Where energy is being wasted. Where a future bottleneck is quietly forming. When something breaks, you fix it. When output dips, you analyze it. When quality drops, you investigate it. But what if… You could see it coming before it ever happened? That’s exactly what the world’s smartest factories are doing. And no—it’s not luck. It’s Digital Twins. Here’s how they’re quietly winning: ✅ They simulate everything—before touching the floor. Using Discrete Event Simulation, they model thousands of “what-if” scenarios ahead of time. ✅ They test scalability virtually. No downtime. No wasted effort. Just pure clarity on what works at 10 units—or 10,000. ✅ They build feedback loops that self-correct. Production issues don’t surprise them—they notify them. ✅ They optimize resource flow in advance. Material, machine, and manpower aligned like clockwork—before the day begins. ✅ They plan for “what if” scenarios—before they happen. What if a supplier delays shipment? What if demand spikes overnight? What if a station fails? Digital Twins let you test it all—before it hits the floor. ✅ They validate line changes without stopping production. Need to rearrange stations or introduce a new variant? It’s simulated, validated, and tweaked—all before operators touch it. ✅ They make daily operations visual and data-driven. From shift supervisors to plant managers—everyone sees the same digital reality. No guesswork. No misalignment. Just clarity. This isn’t a pipe dream. This isn’t reserved for billion-dollar tech companies. This is now. This is Digital Twin Technology. It’s like giving your factory a second brain: • One that never sleeps • One that learns faster than humans • One that speaks in data, not guesses And the outcome? - Less waste - More throughput - Smarter decisions at every level I broke this approach down in a visual you can show your CEO, ops team, or even your board. One page. Clear. Actionable. - Digital Twins are your factory’s second brain ♻️ Repost if you're scaling smart.

a missing package story with a happy ending. imagine it's December 23rd... your company awaits a shipment of holiday gifts for your valued clients. the packages are 3 stops away. then suddenly – package status: "exception." we've all been there. the dreaded delivery limbo that puts client relationships at risk. but UPS is rewriting this story with digital twin technology. what's happening behind the scenes? → UPS created virtual replicas of their entire logistics network → every package now has an RFID-enabled smart label → sensors track packages within three feet of accuracy → AI predicts delays before they happen → workers see the entire system in real-time is this just another tech or AI upgrade? I don't think so. it's changing the entire customer experience, too. ✅ live tracking without blind spots ✅ hands-free tech for workers ✅ faster, more reliable deliveries digital twins help UPS adapt to real-time demand, reroute shipments instantly, and keep deliveries on track. UPS digital twins upgraded the way package moves. it's like a continuous GPS signal that never sleeps. and the impact ripples through the entire system: → workers see potential bottlenecks before they form → facility managers optimize sorting paths instantly → drivers receive route adjustments in real-time → customers track packages with unprecedented accuracy and your company waiting on those critical client gift shipments? with digital twins, you receive an instant notification: "packages rerouted due to congestion. New delivery time: 4:30 PM." relief replaces anxiety. transparency builds confidence. your client relationships remain uncompromised. this transformation goes beyond tracking. digital twins predict the future by simulating what-if scenarios: → "what if this storm hits our Memphis hub?" → "what if holiday volume spikes 20% in Chicago?" → "what if we adjust our sorting algorithm?" the system answers before problems materialize. every innovation in logistics eventually touches human lives. what digital twin would transform your business operations? share your own ideas in the comments 👇 want more break down on how digital transformation is reshaping industries? subscribe to our Lighthouse newsletter for weekly innovation deep dives that keep you ahead of the curve. #digitaltwins #supplychain #Innovation #Transformation

Standing on the factory floor of one of our manufacturing clients, I watched engineers troubleshoot a complex assembly line issue using a simulation. "We used to shut down for hours to test solutions," the manager told me. "Now we run scenarios in the digital twin while production continues." But this barely scratches the surface of what's coming. The conventional view of digital twins, virtual replicas of physical systems, misses their most transformative potential. Having implemented twins across hundreds of facilities, I see three non-obvious transformations unfolding by 2027: First, digital twins will evolve from "mirrors" to "memory systems." Today's twins reflect the current state. Tomorrow's will maintain continuous historical contexts of equipment behaviour. Imagine machines with perfect autobiographical memory, able to correlate maintenance events from years past with subtle performance variations today. I witnessed this emerging capability last quarter when a chemical processor's twin detected a correlation between valve performance and maintenance records from 14 months prior, something no human would have connected. Second, twins will transition from "observation tools" to "counterfactual engines." The true value isn't seeing what is happening but simulating what could happen under conditions never experienced. One manufacturer we work with now explores hundreds of production scenarios monthly that physical constraints would never allow them to test. They've discovered efficiency improvements that defied conventional wisdom. Third, twins will evolve from "digital replicas" to "operational consciousnesses", systems that understand not just how equipment functions but why it exists within broader production contexts. This represents what I call the "Contextual Integration Hierarchy": Level 1: Component awareness (what is happening) Level 2: System awareness (how components interact) Level 3: Purpose awareness (why systems exist) Level 4: Enterprise awareness (what outcomes matter) By 2027, leaders in manufacturing will use twins not just for monitoring but as the cognitive foundation for operations that continuously learn, adapt, and optimise toward business outcomes. What's your experience with digital twins? Are you seeing similar evolutions? #DigitalTwins #IndustrialIntelligence #FutureOfManufacturing #FaclonLabs #Industry40 #DigitalTransformation #IndustrialIoT #SmartFactory #ManufacturingTech #IndustrialAnalytics #TechnologyLeadership

This briefing document reviews the main themes and important findings from a technical paper by Osvaldo A. Bascur titled "Maximizing Copper Production by Proper Water Management Using a Digital Twin". The paper highlights the challenges faced by mineral processing plants, particularly those handling low-grade ores, and proposes a novel solution leveraging digital twin technology to optimize water management and increase copper production. Key Themes: 1. Challenges in Low-Grade Ore Processing: The paper emphasizes the increasing difficulties faced by the mining industry in processing low-grade ores, citing factors like: • Declining ore grades requiring larger processing volumes. • Rising energy costs for grinding and flotation. • Increasing water consumption and scarcity. • Stringent environmental regulations. • Lack of process integration and data utilization. 2. Digital Twin Technology: As a solution, the paper advocates for the adoption of digital twins in mineral processing. It defines a digital twin as "a digital representation of a physical object or system, a virtual replica of physical devices that can be used to run simulations before actual devices are built and deployed" (Shaw and Frülinger 2019). 3. Integrated Plant Modeling and Optimization: The paper outlines the use of a digital twin to model and optimize the entire mineral processing plant, focusing on: • Grinding Circuit: Achieving the desired particle size distribution (PSD) for optimal flotation and water recovery. • Flotation Circuit: Maximizing metal recovery by controlling factors like reagent addition, air flow, and pulp density. • Thickening Process: Enhancing water recovery by optimizing flocculation and underflow density. 4. Data-Driven Insights and Decision Support: The digital twin leverages real-time data from the plant historian and advanced analytics to provide: Key Findings and Results: • Significant Water Recovery and Production Increase: Implementation of the digital twin resulted in a substantial 40% increase in water recovery, leading to a remarkable 32% boost in copper production rate. • Particle Size Distribution is Crucial: The study emphasizes that "the size is not as important as the creation of fines" and highlights the importance of achieving the right particle size distribution shape (M) for optimal flotation and flocculation. This directly impacts both copper recovery and water usage. • Integrated Analysis is Key: Unlike traditional approaches that treat mining, milling, and tailings management separately, the digital twin enables an integrated analysis, ensuring optimal performance across the entire processing chain. • Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: The digital twin facilitates collaboration between different departments within the plant and even with external stakeholders like equipment vendors. This fosters a data-driven culture and allows for continuous improvement.

How Digital Twins may enable Personalised Health Treatment (Nice article, explains the topic well and its potential!) >> ♊️Digital twins in medicine involve creating computational models of patients' organs or entire bodies, using data about genes, proteins, cells, and personal health information, to personalize treatment and avoid complications ♊️Current medical practices often rely on past experiences with similar conditions, whereas digital twins offer a more personalized approach using the patient's own data ♊️In cardiology, patient-specific heart models are being used for designing medical devices and testing drugs, with companies like ELEM BioTech enabling virtual human trials for pharmaceutical clients ♊️Personalized heart models are being developed to aid surgeons in planning surgeries for patients with irregular heartbeats including Atrial Fibrillation, allowing a more tailored approach ♊️Cancer treatment is expected to benefit from digital twins, with AI and machine learning being used to create digital replicas of tumors, helping predict individual patient responses to various drug treatments and combinations ♊️Researchers are developing digital twins for pregnancy to create drugs for conditions such as placental insufficiency or pre-eclampsia, and enhance understanding of pregnancy and labor. These models, built from ultrasound and high-resolution images, use algorithms to mimic pregnancies and forecast complications, including stillbirth ♊️Digital twin technology is also being used to model hospitals, improving the efficiency of patient care by tracking digital signatures of patient interactions and identifying areas for improvement 👇Link to article in comments below #DigitalHealth 

Digital twins are revolutionizing telecommunications by creating virtual replicas of physical assets, using real-time data, machine learning, and simulation to optimize operations and predict issues. Key Use Cases: Network Planning: Vodafone cut capital expenditure by 15%. Predictive Maintenance: Telefónica reduced maintenance costs by 30%. 5G Management: Ericsson sped up 5G rollouts by 20%. Customer Experience: BT Group boosted satisfaction by 10%. Future Trends: AI Integration: Advanced analytics for better performance. IoT and Smart Cities: Managing complex networks. Cost Savings: Projected $5 billion annual savings by 2030. Embracing digital twins positions telecom operators as leaders in innovation and efficiency. #telecommunications #technology #digitaltwins

There is a very powerful consumer behavior simulation tool emerging that will replace traditional A/B and multi-variate testing. Ever heard of a "digital twin?" A digital twin is a virtual replica of your customer that mirrors real-world conditions. Major enterprises create these digital twins to test into new pricing strategies, products, processes, or even marketing campaigns to see how they will affect real-world conditions. By creating these virtual environments, you can simulate different pricing models, merchandising strategies, and marketing tactics without the risk of negatively impacting revenue or customer trust in the real world. Here are a few-ways that leading consumer-facing businesses are using digital twins today: - Test pricing strategies by simulating how different customer segments would react to various price points. - When merchandising, digital twins make it possible to optimize product assortments and see which combinations drive the most engagement across different personas, all before implementing changes across an entire customer base. - Marketers can test various campaigns in these virtual environments, identifying the messaging that resonates best without the delays and costs associated with traditional A/B testing. According to a recent study by Gartner, organizations that invest in digital twins can improve decision-making processes by up to 30%. In a market where the margin for error is small, this kind of precision is a significant competitive advantage. Right now, for most consumer-facing brands, access to creating your own digital twin is cost-prohibitive, but I suspect this will change in the next 1-2 years as existing solutions which enable creation/adoption of a digital twin (such as IBM's Maximo) continue to become more powerful and accessible beyond the enterprise. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this concept as it will become readily available to the mid-market and SMB audience sooner than you might think.

Three weeks ago I watched a young couple “move into” a condo that won’t exist for another 24 months. We were in the sales gallery—hard hats stacked in the corner, espresso machine hissing. Instead of glossy renderings, the team rolled out a digital twin on a big screen. The couple wandered through their future kitchen, nudged the island a foot, and checked how the sunset would hit the balcony in July. Ten minutes later they left a deposit. Here’s why developers are leaning on digital twins for pre-sales: Instant emotional hook – Buyers feel the space. “Unit 19B” becomes their living room, complete with the dog bed in the corner. Emotion closes deposits faster than any brochure. Customization without chaos – Swap cabinet finishes or stretch a closet in real time and see the price impact before drawings are locked. Global reach, local story – Overseas investors can tour the building from a phone at 2 a.m., while the sales rep narrates the neighborhood vibe live. Confidence for the lender – A living dashboard of reserved units, energy projections, and clash-free MEP layouts gives financiers fewer reasons to stall. Pre-sales used to rely on imagination and a leap of faith. Now we hand buyers a digital key and let them walk inside—turning that leap into a single, confident step. (And yes, we’re building these twins every day at Atlas Space.) Check it out the example here: https://lnkd.in/e7h33bQ6 #DigitalTwin #RealEstate #PreSales #PropTech #BuildSmarter