Articles by industry:
We live in a world where digital technologies have warped what we now consider “normal.” For example, with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is now widely accepted that by next year, the IoT will comprise more than 30 billion connected devices. Can you imagine what 30 billion devices look like? If we are going to make sense of all this data, then we’ll need a better way to process and act upon it. Augmented Reality could be our best option.
With all the focus on new technologies and how the world of manufacturing is digitally transforming, it is easy to lose sight of what the repercussions will be with regards to how people will do their job. One thing is certain – it will be different!
Perhaps the most important feature of the smart factory, its connected nature, is also one of its most crucial sources of value. Smart factories require the underlying processes and materials to be connected to generate the data necessary to make real-time decisions. In a truly smart factory, assets are fitted with smart sensors so systems can continuously pull data sets from both new and traditional sources.
Some time ago in 2019 Tom Jenks wrote a great article that defined a Digital Twin and provided a high-level overview of the potential benefits. This technology has come of age, given recent advances that have occurred with the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. By providing access to a greater number of data points coupled with the ability to better predict other variables, it is now possible to achieve far greater calibration between the physical and digital worlds. These developments have significantly increased the value of the Digital Twin.