{"id":38457,"date":"2022-06-15T10:22:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T14:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/?p=38457"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:25:23","slug":"bring-your-kids-to-work-ep-1-the-executable-digital-twin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/bring-your-kids-to-work-ep-1-the-executable-digital-twin\/","title":{"rendered":"Bring Your Kids to Work Ep.1:  The Executable Digital Twin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We recently invited some of our key staff to bring their kids into the office and to try to explain in a child&#8217;s terms what they do for work. The results were entertaining, funny, and quite informative. In the first episode, we invited Siemens\u2019 executable digital twin expert Ian McGann to talk to his son Colin.  They talked about how Simcenter is helping to engineer a more sustainable world by designing better wind turbines. As usual with Ian, it didn\u2019t take long to twist the conversation round to the executable digital twin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Simcenter for a more sustainable world | Bring your kids to work | Sustainable Energy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XupeTxIH4F4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Simcenter for a more sustainable world | Bring you kids to work | Sustainable Energy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The key insight from Colin here is that Siemens can help to design the individual parts of the wind turbine &#8211; more efficient blades, quieter turbines, and more robust gearboxes.  However, what happens when the turbine is out in the field, or more likely, out at sea?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This highlights a fundamental difference in how most of us in the simulation and test game define ourselves (mainly \u201chelping to design things to make the world a better place\u201d) and how members of the public define engineers (\u201cpeople that fix broken machines\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The executable digital twin is a way of reconciling this. It\u2019s a way of extending the usefulness of the simulation models that we create into the operational life of the products we design. It\u2019s a way of extending measurement and test throughout the lifetime of a product. More than that, it\u2019s a way of combining simulation and test inside a living, breathing model.  This model learns and evolves from the conditions that it experiences in the field (or more likely in the middle of the ocean).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Colin had left, I sat down with his dad, for a less child-friendly chat about the executable digital twin as applied to wind turbines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.&nbsp; The xDT is not just another \u201cblack box\u201d!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor a land-based wind turbine, I can easily walk up to it, plug a device in. I can say, \u2018give me your updated status; everything is easily accessible,\u201d says McGann. \u201cOut in the middle of the ocean, nothing is easily accessible. It&#8217;s much more expensive in terms of time and resources. It can also be dangerous in the wrong weather conditions. This means I don\u2019t want to go and do regular maintenance every six months if I don\u2019t absolutely need to. So, I really need the wind turbine to tell me ahead of time when it\u2019s going to break.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditionally this problem was (and still is) tackled by collecting lots of operational data from existing wind turbines. This data is used to construct a statistical model to predict when some essential component of an individual turbine might fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese algorithm-based approaches are too reactive for something like a wind turbine for which I don\u2019t necessarily have a lot of data and for which failure modes might be particular to a specific installation or use case. We need a more industrialised approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to McGann, that is where the executable digital twin (or xDT for short) comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>2.&nbsp; The xDT is physics-based!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDuring the development process, we rely on embedding physical sensors into a product \u2013 for example, a wind turbine blade \u2013 so that we can validate our simulation models and gain confidence that they are providing sensible predictions,\u201d explains McGann. \u201cThere might be hundreds of sensors embedded into a test blade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIdeally, we\u2019d like to have our production turbine blade providing that much data, but no one can afford to build hundreds of sensors into every blade,\u201d says McGann. \u201cBut the good news is that with the xDT, we don\u2019t need to because we can replace them all with two or three sensors and a physics-based model that can predict response data at any number of \u2018virtual\u2019 sensor locations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is happening here is that the executable twin is running real-time simulations in the background, which allows it to reconstruct data across the whole model that corresponds with the known data measured at the limited number of actual sensors. This is not \u201cextrapolation\u201d but physics-based prediction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to have known inputs, so the virtual model needs to know where the sensors on the real model are located, but the output can be anywhere on the whole model,&#8221; he explains McGann. \u201cYou can even put \u201cvirtual sensors\u201d in places that would be impossible on the real blade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-id=\"38466\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine.jpg\" alt=\"Turbine analysis\" class=\"wp-image-38466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine-395x222.jpg 395w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption>Courtesy of Technical University of Denmark<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-id=\"38472\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine2.jpg\" alt=\"Turbine\" class=\"wp-image-38472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine2.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine2-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-Turbine2-395x222.jpg 395w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption>Courtesy of Technical University of Denmark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.&nbsp; The xDT is adaptable!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, we are not just talking about training a prediction model in the lab and then deploying it in the real world. To be useful, the executable digital twin must adapt and learn from its environment. According to McGann, that\u2019s not a problem; it\u2019s one of its strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can augment the xDT with new data using Kalman filters, where we make it smart,\u201d says McGann. \u201cSo, the xDT updates itself. What happens is you get data coming in, and the model says, \u2018Oh, this is new data, I don\u2019t recognise it!\u201d so it correlates the known inputs with the known outputs, and the model automatically adapts. It says, \u2018I&#8217;m going to match whatever you&#8217;re telling me is the input.\u2019 And it gives you really nice results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe question is do I need a different digital twin for each turbine I develop?\u201d asks McGann. \u201cWe\u2019re increasingly finding that the xDT is so adaptable you can often deploy the same xDT on a different wind turbine, and the model just updates itself. We\u2019re even building a small demo version using the same xDT so potential customers can play with it themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-WindDept.jpg\" alt=\"Dept of Wind, Technical University of Denmark\" class=\"wp-image-38467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-WindDept.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-WindDept-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/UnivDenmark-WindDept-395x222.jpg 395w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption>Courtesy of Technical University of Denmark<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4.&nbsp; The xDT is available NOW!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There has been a lot of talk about digital twins in the last few years, but there are relatively few real-life examples of them. I ask Ian if the xDT is available today, or is it just another digital pipedream?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think the difference is if somebody said to me, \u2018I want to create that flexible Digital Twin that you&#8217;re talking about,\u2019 10 years ago, we could have done it. And it would&#8217;ve been a great services project, and it would&#8217;ve been a couple of million dollars, and it would&#8217;ve been very fixed to that design,\u201d explains McGann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, what we&#8217;ve done now is that we&#8217;ve created the software behind it to make it easy to create, easy to validate,\u201d and then the deployment and the management of those Digital Twins is now in place. And that wasn&#8217;t there before. So, customers would&#8217;ve said, \u2018I can&#8217;t create this myself. I need an expert to help me. It&#8217;s literally a button you press!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.  The xDT is secure and scalable!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, having determined that xDTs are ready to be deployed in the real world, the next question is one of scalability and security. How do we cope with all the data transfer and processing if we have these arrays of wind turbines out at sea, each with a digital twin on board? How do we make sure that the data is secure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWell, why would you transfer the data?\u201d he asks pointedly.&nbsp; \u201cWhy not just transfer the updated Digital Twin and the inputs? And that Digital Twin can be compressed, and it can be made so that it&#8217;s not hackable. It&#8217;s IP protected. So, the customer who creates that Digital Twin is creating their IP into that Digital Twin. And rather than transferring data that might not be secure, I now have a secured validated model, and I can just move the model around and then recreate all my data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-1024x447.jpg\" alt=\"Bring you kid to work day\" class=\"wp-image-38468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-1024x447.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-600x262.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-768x335.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-1536x670.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch-900x392.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Turbine_Sketch.jpg 1908w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Case Study:  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/customers\/technical-university-of-denmark\/98489\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Technical University of Denmark uses Simcenter to test wind turbine blade longevity<\/a><\/li><li>White Paper:  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/resource\/safe-and-sustainable-electricity-production\/108169\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safe and sustainable electricity production<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Bring Your Kid to Work Day, Ian McGann talks to his son about how Simcenter is used to design and build wind turbines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59541,"featured_media":38564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[33248,14777,33247],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[1076],"class_list":["post-38457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-executable-digital-twin","tag-wind-turbines","tag-xdt"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/06\/Ian_Turbine1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38457"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38560,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38457\/revisions\/38560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38457"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=38457"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=38457"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=38457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}