digital twins

In today’s manufacturing industry, digital twins are a key enabler for optimizing production processes and efficient resource use. However, creating digital twins is often associated with high or difficult-to-estimate costs and typically requires unknown characteristic values, such as material parameters, making practical implementation challenging. With RAPIDZ, we present a tool for creating and using digital twins that overcomes these barriers through its modular structure. The virtual modeling of physical systems enables comprehensive analysis and real-time forecasting of material flows, energy consumption and machine performance. The use of RAPIDZ increases production line efficiency, enhances flexibility and response time, and enables proactive maintenance to minimize downtime.

Strategic Product Planning must adapt to current challenges such as circular economy, digital business models and interdisciplinarity. Established process models, for example, can only be applied to Product-Service Systems to a limited extent. This article presents a new SPP model developed through an analysis of 230 existing approaches and enhanced by the integration of digital twins, enabling continuous feedback throughout the entire product life cycle. This allows product monitoring and dynamic adjustments to the SPP. The model adopts an agile, iterative framework consisting of five cyclical key activities, guided by five control points aligned with increasing levels of maturity. By factoring in circularity from the outset, the model promotes resource-efficient products and production processes. Its emphasis on flexibility, information circularity and sustainability ensures future value and adaptability across industries of the proposed SPP model.

Reducing emissions from industrial processes is crucial for global cli-mate protection goals. Many countries have set ambitious targets, such as Germany's goal to reduce industrial emissions by 20% before 2030. To achieve these goals, innovative technologies for sustainable industrial production are needed. Digital technologies offer opportunities to analyze energy and resource consumption, leading to data-driven improvements that contribute to climate protection. The demand for traceability solutions, including product carbon footprints and digital product passports, has increased due to EU regulations. Digital technologies have emerged as powerful enablers to meet this demand. Green Digital Twins, which optimize energy efficiency, minimize carbon emissions, and reduce environmental impact, provide a technological solution for sustainable transformation. While digital twins have gained traction in the industrial environment through standardization and demonstration activities, the ...

The food sector is facing many challenges, including food loss and waste. To cope with those challenges, digital twins that create a digital representation of physical entities by integrating real-time and real- world data seems to be a promising approach. This article presents the results of a literature review on digital twin applications in the food industry and analyze their challenges and potentials.