| Abstract |
Digital twins, virtual replicas of physical objects, systems, or processes, have emerged as a transformative technology with profound implications across various industries. The assimilation of digital twin technology in various industries has ushered in a transformative era, reshaping the landscape of design, monitoring, and optimization. This chapter explores the expansive arena of digital twins, virtual counterparts mirroring physical objects, systems, or processes to unravel their diverse applications, benefits, and challenges across sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and smart cities. As digital twins evolve from conceptual ideals to tangible tools in the age of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT), their significance becomes increasingly pronounced. The primary objectives of this chapter are manifold. Firstly, the chapter seeks to elucidate the varied use cases of digital twins, ranging from product design and prototyping in manufacturing to personalized medicine in healthcare and urban planning in smart cities. Through in-depth exploration of real-world applications, it aims to showcase how digital twins are catalyzing innovation, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering data-driven decision-making. Manufacturing, as a focal point, sees digital twins revolutionizing product design and prototyping by facilitating collaborative and agile development processes. The advent of predictive maintenance, enabled by digital twins, has mitigated downtime and optimized operational processes. Also, quality control mechanisms benefit from the precision of digital twin simulations, ensuring higher product standards and process optimization. In healthcare, the application of digital twins extends to personalized medicine, where patient-specific treatment plans are crafted with unprecedented accuracy. Virtual patient models, generated through digital twins, serve as invaluable tools for medical education, training, and surgical planning, transforming the healthcare landscape. Smart cities, with their complex infrastructural and urban challenges, witness the deployment of digital twins in urban planning and infrastructure management. The chapter illuminates how these virtual replicas contribute to efficient city planning, improving public safety, and enhancing emergency response strategies. The widespread adoption of digital twins is not without its challenges and ethical considerations. This chapter addresses issues such as data privacy, security, and interoperability emphasizing the need for robust regulatory frameworks and standardized practices to ensure secure and ethical deployment. It explores emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain and their potential integration with digital twins. It underscores the importance of regulatory frameworks and educational initiatives to guide the ethical use of digital twins and foster a skilled workforce capable of harnessing their full potential. The present study delves into the complex world of digital twins, examining their applications, advantages, drawbacks and prospects. © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
