Blockchain and Digital Twins: Amalgamating the Technologies

What are Digital Twins?

According to Gartner, “A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world entity or system. The implementation of a digital twin is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object, process, organization, person or other abstraction. Data from multiple digital twins can be aggregated for a composite view across a number of real-world entities, such as a power plant or a city, and their related processes.”

That is to say, Digital Twins are the digital representation of physical objects, processes, and services. Moreover, it imitates real-world phenomena and replicates its behaviors digitally. It also gathers data, predicts performances, and identifies approaches more suitable for business requirements. In other words, Digital Twins are computer procedures that apply actual data to generate digital replicas. Further, it helps understand the performances of various processes, products, and solutions. It also enables the use of IoT, AI, and other software analytics to improve results for specific requirements.

Why and How to Design Digital Twins?

Firstly, Digital Twins offer their capabilities to test or understand the capabilities of a product, service, or solution. It also enables businesses to analyze the potential of a product or a process and its operational feasibility. Moreover, it monitors the lifecycles of products and determines the changes that may apply to increase profitability. 

Further, Digital Twins’ designs require collecting data and developing computational models to represent the physical object. It also uses an interface to connect the digital model and physical assets. Therefore, it can easily transfer actual data to the model to replicate real-time procedures. Hence the three main components and procedures to create a digital twin are data, modeling, and linking.

When to use Digital Twins in businesses?

Digital Twins are constantly expanding their horizons across industries according to their requirements. Therefore, the three major types of Digital Twins showcase their requirements in various processes: 

• Digital Twin Prototype (DTP): It refers to creating prototypes or models before the creation of the physical products.

• DTI or Digital Twin Instance is the process of running tests on a finished product using various scenarios and criteria.

• Digital Twin Aggregate (DTA): Further, DTA collects information from DTI to discern the capabilities of the product. It also applies prognostics, tests, and analysis processes to understand its operative skills.

What is Blockchain?

IBM defines the term as, “Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.”

In other words, a Blockchain is a decentralized database that maintains data and information in a digital structure. Moreover, Blockchain gathers data in groups from various sources, and this information is known as blocks. Further, these blocks incorporate the sets of information and link with newer blocks once they reach their capacity. Hence, this data chain and connection is known as a blockchain. It also stores the information and links them using cryptography within the blocks. 

Key Elements of Blockchain

• Distributed Ledger Technology: Network participants and sources access a distributed ledger and its permanent transactional documents. Moreover, it is a shared and distributed ledger technology that records one transaction at a time to avoid duplications. 

• Immutable Records: Immutable records disable the ability to transform, change, and tamper with any data within the shared ledger. Although in the presence of an error it enables the use of a new transaction to reverse the error. 
• Smart Contracts: It refers to the set of rules that speed up the process of transactions. It also stores and executes information in the blockchain. Moreover, it determines conditions for any transfers that include terms and regulations.

How does Blockchain work? 

• Firstly, it records each transaction as a block of data or information. Moreover, it includes the movements and transactions of tangible and intangible assets.
• Further, it ensures a connection between each block and the one before it. Therefore, it creates a chain of information and the owner of the asset is aware of its movements. It also monitors the time and series of an asset’s transactions to prevent any altercations with the data.
• Moreover, Transactions in a Blockchain are irreversible and permanent. Above all, each block in the blockchain adds to the strength and requires more verification the further a user tries to access it. 

Blockchain and Digital Twins: Are they the perfect pair?

Combining Blockchain and Digital Twins enables businesses to collect relevant information about products and processes. Moreover, it encourages businesses to create more authentic and unique products. Therefore, providing them with an advantage over competitors who may maneuver similar processes for their products. 

Blockchain also offers Digital Twins a sense of security and privacy when it comes to product design, process results, and solution credibility. Digital twins are built with traditional technologies, although blockchain enables them to retain information. 

Benefits of Amalgamating Blockchain and Digital Twins 

• Reliable Resources: Firstly, Blockchain plays an important role in gathering data from various sources and mapping it for Digital Twin executions. Moreover, it mitigates the opportunities to tamper with or change information and reduces cyber-threats. 

• Decentralized Infrastructure: Digital Twins enable businesses to execute their abilities in different processes and operations. However, a centralized system is incapable of managing various environments and requirements. Therefore, Blockchain offers access and storage opportunities through decentralizing structures using ledgers.

• Securing Data: Due to the increase in digitization and connectivity, there is an imminent threat to the data. As a result, the immutable nature of Blockchain enables integrity and reliability while collecting the data for Digital Twins. 

Applications of Blockchain and Digital Twins across industries

• Applications of Blockchain and Digital Twins in Logistics:

Firstly, the logistics industry is encountering multiple issues from non-transparency. Blockchain and DT offer security and streamline processes for logistical operations. Further, Blockchain connects to IoT sensors and provides transparency within the processes. As a result, tracking and monitoring items and products become easier as IoT sensors create digital twins using blockchain-based information. It also offers businesses complete information about a product and its progress during transportation. Hence, Blockchain and Digital Twins can help resolve significant issues in logistics by maintaining and tracking information of the items.

• Blockchain and Digital Twins Application in Utilities:

The utility industry leverages Blockchain and Digital Twin technology to improve its productivity. Moreover, the demand and supply of energy change according to user requirements. Further, IoT devices help collect data and build a smart energy environment that offers transparency. Digital Twins play a significant role in replicating the behavior of physical meters to comprehend user consumption. Therefore, energy businesses can identify user patterns and supply power according to their requirements. Consumers can also access the data in real-time and can alter the usage according to their requirements. 

• Applications of Blockchain and Digital Twins in Healthcare

The Healthcare industry has always been involved with the latest technologies to enhance their processes. As a result, the healthcare industry’s progress leads to more life-saving opportunities. For instance, Digital Twins can replicate a patient’s heart using the data from a digital pacemaker. Therefore, it enables cardiologists to understand a patient’s condition. It also helps determine the right treatment and diagnosis for the patient by virtually monitoring their heart. Further, Blockchain can store the patient’s medical and healthcare records and make them accessible to professionals.