1AliJavaheriAssociateAnalyst,EmergingTechnologyali.javaheri@pitchbook.comEMERGINGSPACEBRIEFDigitalTwinsOriginallypublishedJune8,2023TrendingcompaniesOverviewDigitaltwinsarevirtualreplicasofphysicalassets,constructedviasensordata,connectivity,andanalytics.Theyareusedacrosssectorssuchasmanufacturing,automotive,healthcare,andenergytoprovidereal-timemonitoring,modeling,andoptimization.Forinstance,digitaltwinscansimulateproductionlinesinfactories,vehicleperformanceunderdifferentconditions,healthrisksinpatients,orenvironmentaleffectsonpowergenerators.Theyfacilitateadvancedapplicationssuchaspredictivemaintenance,performancesimulations,andefficiencyoptimization.Bridgingthevirtualandphysicalworlds,digitaltwinsallowcontinuousdataexchangeandvisualization,offeringinvaluableinsightsfordecisionmakingandstrategicplanning.BackgroundAconceptsimilartodigitaltwinshasrootsinthe1960swhenNASApioneeredtheuseofdigitaltechnologyduringtheApollo13moonmission.Simulatorsweresetupontherealspaceshippriortodeparture,allowingengineerstorunsituationalsimulationswhilethespacecraftwasinspace.Thesesimulators,whichweremorephysicalthandigital,1provedcrucialwhenthemissionencounteredcriticalmalfunctions,asengineerscouldassessandrecreatetheconditionsonboardthemalfunctioningshuttle.Byguidingthecrewwiththehelpofcomputer-controlledmodels,theysuccessfullyavertedapotentialdisasterandsafelybroughtthecrewhome.2Thecurrentiterationof“digitaltwins”wassolidifiedinthe2000swhenMichaelGrievespresentedthedevelopmentofaproductlifecyclemanagementcenterattheUniversityofMichiganin2002.Thiscenterencompassedalltheessentialelementsassociatedwithadigitaltwin,includingaphysicalspace,avirtualspace,andtheexchangeofinformationbetweenthetwo.BrendanBurkeSeniorAnalyst,EmergingTechnologybrendan.burke@pitchbook.com1:“PhysicalTwins,DigitalTwins,andtheApolloMyth,”Linkedin,MichaelGrieves,September8,2022.2:“WhatIsaDigitalTwin?”NVIDIA,ScottMartin,December14,2021.DigitaltwinsVCdealactivitySource:PitchBook•Geography:Global*AsofMay31,20...
