Digital Twins Are the Foundation of Future Collaborations in an Environment Sometimes Known As “The Enterprise Metaverse”

Made popular in the early 1990s by David Gelernter’s book Mirror Worlds, the concept of digital twins isn’t new. However, it is only thanks to the technologies developed over the past 30 years that, today, digital twins are a reality. Digital twins are the digital representation of a physical object which exists in the metaverse. Thanks to digital twins, manufacturers can test prototypes, supply chain managers can ensure product authenticity, and business owners can level up their operations with minimal additional investments.

But how do digital twins work? And what role are they bound to play in the business of the future?

In this guide by Authena M3TA™, you can learn more about the impact that digital twins are having on the business environment as a whole.

What Is an Example of a Digital Twin?

The first step to understanding the potential impact that digital twins might have is to clarify what digital twins are. Although the definition of this technology is still in evolution, a digital twin refers to the virtual representation of a physical object. Digital twins exist in the digital world and are connected to their underlying physical objects.

Using a wide range of technologies such as machine learning, AI, VR, AR, and simulation, digital twins support the real-time exchange of data with the underlying object.

Although examples vary depending on the industry that employs this technology, some common digital twins include:

• Virtual representations of parts and components
• A digital twin prototype to streamline a new product’s design and testing
• Digital twins of systems or frameworks
• Virtual representations of processes
• Virtual representations of a physical environment

What Is the Future of Digital Twins?

Although technologies such as AI, NFTs, and digital twins have been mainly adopted by the gaming and entertainment sectors, according to new studies, the future of the metaverse is in the enterprise.

Indeed, digital twins are now finding a wide range of applications in the business world thanks to the fact that they enable the creation of a secure and efficient information-sharing environment. What’s more, managing digital twins associated with underlying physical assets allow business owners to optimize their human capital and automate their asset management.

Where Is Digital Twin Technology Used?

As seen above, industries such as gaming have been among the early adopters of this technology. However, today, a wide range of industries are taking advantage of virtual models.

These sectors include:

• Pharmaceutical
• healthcare industry
• Cosmetics
• Luxury goods
• Automotive industry
• Manufacturing
• Supply chain
• Sports memorabilia

In these industries, digital twins are mainly used to ensure product authenticity, boost supply chain visibility, and reduce the risk of fraud and counterfeiting.

What Is Virtual Reality?

To understand how digital twins work, it is crucial to look into the technologies behind them. These certainly include simulation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. But, even more importantly, digital twins rely on virtual reality to work.

VR refers to a computer-generated, data-rich 3D simulation of a physical environment. Using ad hoc devices, VR users can interact with the environment and other objects and people within it.

How Is Virtual Reality Used?

Virtual reality has found a wide range of uses in multiple industries. For example, VR is used in the entertainment and gaming industry to create more immersive experiences for users. However, in the education, military, and healthcare industries, VR is successfully used in training. In business, VR is often used to enable virtual meetings, support remote collaborations, and help companies successfully implement hybrid work models.

What Is a Digital Twin in AI?

Digital twins are intertwined with AI-based technologies. By creating digital models, businesses can use digital replicas to run simulations and leverage real-world data to make better business decisions.

Digital twins can also be used to prevent problems and forecast the performance of a certain process, system, or product without having to invest significant or unnecessary resources.

What Are Examples of Physical Environments?

In business, physical environments refer to all of those physical and external conditions influencing the business’s processes and assets. Examples of physical environments include office spaces, equipment and furniture, supplies, storage areas, production processes, frameworks, and systems.

Creating and managing digital representations of these physical environments allow businesses to optimize their output without having to engage in costly real-life A\B testing. Even more importantly, developing virtual representations of physical processes is a considerable part of a company’s digital transformation.

What Is the Meta-Version of an Enterprise?

Companies tend to create a digital representation of a product, system, or performance. Individually, these digital twins might deliver important data, but it is only when they are combined that they offer the greatest benefits.

When a company is able to create a digital copy of its products, processes, and frameworks, a metaverse of an enterprise is created. In this digital representation, business owners and managers can test assumptions, address inefficiencies, and boost productivity.

How Will Metaverse Change the Business?

Although digital twins, NFTs, and the metaverse are technologies still in their infancy phase, their potential to drastically change the world of business as we know it today is undeniable.

Some of the most critical ways in which using digital twins can help business owners create the companies of the future include:

• The metaverse will enhance UX and customer journey.
• Digital twins will change how consumers interact with businesses.
• The metaverse and digital twins will help businesses overcome geographical barriers and reach a global audience.
• Digital twins can help make digital interactions with other businesses and people more real, personal, and meaningful.
• Digital models can support service personalization.
• Digital twins can help businesses make more accurate and data-driven strategic decisions.

What Does Authena Do in the Metaverse?

Although digital twins are a powerful technology that allows businesses to create digital representations of physical objects, unlocking the full potential of digital twins involves pairing them with a physical product. And that’s where Authena M3TA™ comes in.

Beyond simply creating a digital twin of a physical product, Authena M3TA™ also designs ad hoc NFTs that allow businesses to obtain real-time data about underlying physical objects. For example, in the case of supply chains, managers can track an NFT connected to an underlying item to control that unit’s condition and authenticity.

What’s more, when working with Authena, businesses can enjoy personalized authentication solutions that reflect the unique needs of a certain enterprise.

In Which Industries Will Enterprise Metaverse Occur?

Although the metaverse is a technology bound to take the world by storm, some industries have already emerged as early adopters. In particular, the global supply chain is leveraging digital twin technologies to ensure product safety and authentication as the international supply chain expands.

However, applications for this new technology are nearly endless, and no industry will remain untouched!