Digital Twins and Leveraging Data Analysis

By Paul Parker, SolarWinds Federal & National Government Chief Technologist

Here is an interesting article from my colleague Joe Kim, in which he discusses how technology drives military asset management.

Military personnel need to be able to easily manage the lifecycle of their connected assets, from creation to maintenance to retirement. They can do this by creating a digital representation of a physical object, like a troop transport, which they can use for a number of purposes, including monitoring the asset’s health status, movements, location, and more.

The concept behind these “digital twins” was first presented in 2002 during a University of Michigan presentation by Dr. Michael Grieves, who posited that there are two systems: one physical, the other a digital representation that contained all of the information about the physical system. His thought was that the digital twin could be used to monitor and support the entire life cycle of its physical sibling and, in the process, keep that sibling functioning and healthy.

Digitizing a vehicle

Consider a military vehicle that has just rolled off the assembly line and is ready to be commissioned.

Getting the most out of this asset requires consistent maintenance. Ideally, that maintenance can be performed proactively to prevent any potential breakdowns. It can be difficult to know or keep track of when the vehicle may need maintenance, and impossible to predict when a breakdown may occur.

Fortunately, the data collected by the various sensors contained within the vehicle can be used to create a digital twin. This representation can provide a very clear picture, in real time, of its status.

Further, by collecting this information over time, the digital twin has the ability to create an evolving yet extraordinarily accurate picture of how the vehicle will perform in the future. As the sensors continue to report information, the digital twin continues to learn, model, and adapt its prediction of future performance.

This information can help teams in a number of ways. The analytics derived from historical performance data can be used to point to potential warning signs and predict failures before they occur, thereby helping avoid unwanted downtime. Data can also be used to diagnose a problem and even, in some cases, solve the issue remotely. At the least, digital twins can be used to help guide soldiers and repair specialists to quickly fix the problem on the ground.

The life cycle management process also becomes much more efficient. Digital twins can help simplify and accelerate management of a particular thing, in this case, a physical entity like a vehicle.

Taking the next step

The digital twin concept is a logical next step to consider for defense agencies that have already begun investing in software-defined services. These services are designed to simplify and accelerate the management of core technology concepts, including computing, storage, and networking. The idea is to improve the management of each of these concepts throughout their life cycles, from planning and design through production, deployment, maintenance, and, finally, retirement.

Digital twins take this concept a step further by applying it to physical objects. It’s an evolution for the military’s ever-growing web of connectivity. Digital twins, and the data analysis they depend on, can open the doors to more efficient and effective asset lifecycle management.

Find the full article on SIGNAL.

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Comments

rschroeder

In the military, or in business, government, or at home, a digital twin's information represents an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, it's a nice predictive tool, and one that says what's actually wrong and should to replaced or repaired or redesigned. On the other hand, this information is something a "competitor" might want--and YOU might not want them to have it.

Some challenges:

Securing the data from the real device to the network, and from the network to the digital twin, and from monitoring stations that view the real data or the twins' data. If data can be viewed and copied, interrupted, or even manipulated and reinserted surreptitiously, then I'd want to live without out it. Compromised, stolen, or disrupted information flow may cause serious problems.
Creating the infrastructure, whether done securely or not, represents a duplication of efforts and costs. Will the cost of this new effort reduce maintenance costs sufficiently to pay for the new twinning technology?
Scaling this to a large environment, particularly when security is critical, requires a large and highly-available network over which to communicate reliably (wirelessly? Heavens, no!) and on which to store the twins' data.
Naming conventions that are obvious and intuitive, to ensure someone reading the information from device EXT3344334433443 does't confuse it with information from EXT3344434433443. I changed one digit from a 3 to a 4 in that example. It can be even more confusing if naming conventions overlap with other systems (City Names with Presidents with States, Cars with Animals, etc.), or if characters are used that might be confused or misinterpreted (e.g.: 0 vs O, 1 vs l vs I (a one, a lower case L, an upper case eye)).

Yes, coolness and new opportunities and efficiencies may be leveraged from this.

But there are also serious costs to be incurred to make it work well. Your new "solution" must not result in new problems and new vulnerabilities your company would have avoided by staying away from twinning technologies.

zennifer

I like the concept... and it definitely applies to all hardware ... what about the non tangible ....... you need to make sure that you are using a good algorithm to calculate those non tangible variables ... I like Virtualization Manager for this case study!

You need to constantly monitor all variables that impact business ! Forecast and predict, utilizing tools and vendor specific recommendations.

Nice stimulation!!

vinay.by

Good article

david.botfield

Good Article.

ecklerwr1

We sure put some serious digital hardware on some of the vehicles and can tell you that... the MRAPs - Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles sure have a LOT! Basically driving around in a vehicle with at least 3 different networks on it all linked by some line of sight or satcom coms.

asheppard970

Very good article. In the O/G world, we use compressors that have built-in, albeit somewhat archaic, electronics for monitoring speed, compression rate, etc. Where I could see a "digital twin" of value in these cases is that our equipment analysts must go out periodically and take readings from the engine. If they could setup a "twin" of, say, a CAT compressor, all they would need do is consult it before using drive time and resources to phsycially go check on a unit. Consequently, I could see this upping MTBFs and making for a more efficient environment. Now all we need is to get those CATs on the IoT and have them phone home when they need an oil change!! :-)

petergwilson

You could extend this a bit. If you clone the digital twin when it is showing a problem you could potentially test fixes against the clone to see what works before actually sending spare parts and getting a spanner out. This would lead to first time fixes every time in the field.

tinmann0715

"Military vehicles" aren't your usual automobile. They are very complex moving machines with thousands and thousands of moving parts. All of those sensors sending back data (think of the network charges!?!) and what is chewing on that data and where is that data being stored? It is mind-blowing the logistical mountains that have to be traversed to make this a reality. And think of the enormity of an aircraft carrier alone. Wow...

petergwilson

Some are and some aren't. I learned to drive in a snatch landrover, 4 tonner, Chieftan tank and a Scorpion. None of these are very complex but all need fixed in the field. Combat vehicles need to be simple as they just need to work in tough environments. Most don't need complex electonics but a load of sensors monitoring engine, suspension and weapon systems would really help diagnose the less obvious problems. If you could use a remote system to diagnose a problem and then tell a basic squadie what to change you could get the vehicle back into action very quickly. Complex stuff like aircraft carriers have loads of specialists on board to do this but a tank in the field doesn't.

I also have good experience with military data networks and the British one is pretty good so the data transfer wouldn't be that difficult given the amount of combat information already being passed about.

jm_sysadmin

Yah, I think a model like the one proposed above makes more sense when you have a complicated thing, in this case a vehicle. WWII Jeeps were much easier to know what was going on just by looking at them. Today, you need so much more.

asheppard970

Speaking of WW2 Jeeps, I found this many years ago and my jaw dropped when I saw it. Yes, jm_sysadmin, things were simpler back then.

disassembly and the assembly of the jeep in 3 minutes - YouTube

zennifer

Yeah ..... I remember this jeep ... very cool!!!!

Nene

This article is brilliant and the concept great.