Simulation: the Critical Technology in Digital Twin Development

Digital twins are virtual representations of physical entities and processes. They aid in deriving insights to control entities and processes in the digital world and use those insights to drive actions in the physical world. Simulation is one of the key enabling technologies that lie at the heart of digital twin development, as it provides enhanced visibility into future performance and the ability to identify profit-optimal decisions. This tutorial describes how we envision the digital twins developed in industry and the pivotal role simulation plays in their development. Using supply chain digital twins as an example application, we introduce our digital twin framework that simulation practitioners might find useful when developing their digital twin solutions to understand what did happen, predict what may happen, and determine solutions to fix future problems before they happen. We conclude with simulation research streams that contribute to the use of simulation in digital twin development.