Concept dictionary
Digital Twin
A digital twin is a digital representation of a specific physical asset, process, or system that is maintained with relevant data so it can support monitoring, analysis, simulation, or decisions about its real counterpart.
- Review state
- Needs review
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
Also called
- Digital Twin
- Digital Twins
Remember it this wayA digital twin is a maintained model tied to one real counterpart.
In plain language
The twin is more than a static drawing. It represents selected properties and states of something real and is updated through data, observations, or operational records.
Why it matters
A twin can support planning and prediction, but decisions are only as sound as the model scope, data quality, update process, and match between the representation and reality.
Example
A factory maintains a digital representation of a production line using sensor and maintenance data to test scheduling and failure scenarios.
Common misconception
A digital twin is not a perfect copy of reality. It is a purpose-built model that omits details and can become stale.
Related terms
Sources
- NIST, Digital Twinsofficial overview of digital-twin models, uses, and standards work.
Learn more
- Monitor representation drift through [[context-to-reality-drift|Context-to-Reality Drift]].