DistribuTech 2018: Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and 'Digital Twins'

What can massive computing power and ubiquitous data do for the future power grid? The answers to this question were lurking around every corner at this year's massive DistribuTech utility and energy trade show in San Antonio, Texas, where the phrases "machine learning," "artificial intelligence" and "digital twin" were being tossed back and forth between vendors and customers with abandon. These big-data buzzwords have been part of the DistribuTech lexicon for some time. And over the years, it's been possible to trace the progress of some of these promised technology breakthroughs, both in real-world performance improvements and the new solutions being created for problems that used to take utilities months or years to tackle. For instance, let's take the concept of a "digital twin."