A digital twin is a digital model of a product, process, or service. Digital twins provide data analysis, system monitoring to warn problems, downtime prevention, and future planning via simulations by combining the virtual and physical worlds. The digital twin is equipped with smart components that use sensors to collect real-time data, operating status, working circumstances, and so on. The data collected by these sensors is received and processed by a cloud-based system. This data is analyzed with business and contextual data.
The global digital twin market was worth $6.5 billion in 2021 and will reach $125.7 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 39.48% in 2021-2030.
The key concept of the digital twin market
The Digital Twin concept dates back to the 1960s when NASA introduced the idea of twinning for their Apollo program to create physical duplicates on Earth that matched their systems in space. The concept enabled them to simulate various scenarios, different test cases, and conditions and evaluate the behavior and performance of their systems. It gained traction after the twin came to the rescue following the resolution of technical problems in the Apollo 13 mission by engineers on Earth testing possible solutions on the ground twin. Later, Michael Grieves introduced the concept of digital twins to the manufacturing industry in the early 2000s by creating virtual replicas of factories to monitor processes, predict failures, and increase productivity.
Growth factors
The pandemic has pushed the implementation of digital twin technology in a variety of applications outside of manufacturing, including real estate, healthcare, communications, and retail, driving the market’s growth prospects.
Integrating digital twin technology with technologies such as IoT, AI, and cloud computing will likely increase market growth even further. Companies are deploying IIoT and AI technologies to capture and analyze behavioral data from existing IoT devices, and connected products can be applied to the digital twin model to duplicate the performance and usage of the existing device. This allows product engineers and designers to monitor product performance, detect flaws, and predict future issues.
Using these technologies also helps businesses increase system and operational productivity, enhancing the final product’s overall performance.
Market restraints
The rising adoption of cloud and IoT technology is also posing security and data privacy risks and raising the danger of cyberattacks. Cloud-based digital twins necessitate the online storage of asset information, which raises security and privacy concerns. Furthermore, the scarcity of experienced personnel makes it difficult for firms to design an effective cybersecurity plan. As a result, some Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to be cautious to spend extensively on modern technologies, which are projected to hamper the market growth.
Segmentation analysis
On the basis of region and enterprise, in 2021, the North American region dominated the global market for medium- and small-sized businesses using digital twins. From 2020 through 2030, North America is anticipated to dominate the global market for small and medium-sized businesses. The largest annual growth rate is anticipated for the North American market. According to extensive analysis and research, the military and aerospace sectors’ share of the North American digital twin market will rise by more than 30% between 2020 and 2030. North America is the primary hub and the home of several manufacturers and suppliers. Amazon (ASW) (US), Microsoft (US), General Electric, and IBM are just a few examples (US). These major organizations were among the first in the United States to implement and employ Digital Twin technology.
In terms of Industry, with total revenue of almost 15% in 2021, the transportation and automotive sector dominated the global economy. The use of electric vehicles (EVs) and the development of simulation technologies serve as catalysts for expanding the global transportation and automotive industries. Engineers can gather vehicle operational and behavioral data through digital twin technology in the automotive and transportation sectors, opening up possibilities for future advancements in engineering and cost-optimization strategies. Due to anticipated trends in the automotive and transportation industries, this technology is also anticipated to be extensively used in this industry.
On the basis of application, The Aircraft production sector is expected to lead the digital twin market for product design and development applications throughout the specified time period. Furthermore, it is expected that the aircraft sector will grow at a rapid pace between 2020 and 2030. The use of digital twin technology in developing applications, product design, and robotic process automation is an emerging technology, along with cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things.
Major Players
- Oracle Corporation
- SAP
- Microsoft Corporation
- Hexagon AB
- IBM Corporation
- Siemens
- General Electric
- Bosch
- Other players
