How to use human and artificial intelligence with digital twins

Human intelligence has been creating and maintaining complex systems since the beginnings of civilizations. In modern times, digital twins have emerged to aid operations of complex systems, as well as improve design and production. Artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) – including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – have emerged as tools that can help manage operations for complex systems. Digital twins can be enhanced with AI and emerging user interface (UI) technologies like XR can improve people's abilities to manage complex systems via digital twins. Digital twins can marry human and AI to produce something far greater by creating a usable representation of complex systems. End users do not need to worry about the formulas that go into machine learning (ML), predictive modeling and artificially intelligent systems, but also can capitalize on their power as an extension of their own knowledge and abilities. Digital twins combined with AR, VR and related technologies provide a framework to overlay intelligent decision making into day-to-day operations, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: A digital twin can be enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent realities user interfaces, such as extended reality (XR), which includes augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The operations of a physical twin can be digitized by sensors, cameras and other such devices, but those digital streams are not the only sources of data that can feed the digital twin. In addition to streaming data, accumulated historical data can inform a digital twin. Relevant data could include data not generated from the asset itself, such as weather and business cycle data. Also, computer-aided design (CAD) drawings and other documentation can help the digital twin provide context.