Connect data from the factory to on the road with the Digital Twin
As cars and vehicles become more complex and software-defined, the role of data in the automotive industry has become more important in recent years. Yet there are two key challenges in leveraging data. The first is finding the right data amid automotive’s expansive product lifecycles and ecosystems. The second is turning said data into actionable insights to improve products and processes. The comprehensive Digital Twin provides the solutions to both challenges.
In an episode of The Industry Forward Podcast, Royston Jones, Global Head of Automotive and Transportation for Siemens Digital Industries Software, is joined by Ryan Martin, Senior Research Director at ABI Research. Together, they explore the current status of data acquisition in the automotive industry and how the comprehensive Digital Twin connects and contextualizes data for companies, enabling them to optimize their product lifecycles like never before.
Data on the move
The integration of software systems in new vehicles has altered how automotive companies use and collect data on their vehicles. In addition to being able to send over-the-air updates to vehicles already on the road, those vehicles are also able to send back data, collected by sensors that monitor systems and the environments vehicles operate in. Companies can use this data to push out better software updates, as well as gain insights for developing future products, creating a closed loop of data and feedback.
There are still obstructions to data collection, however. As Ryan points out, vehicles are not singular items that consumers often think they are but are instead composed of a multitude of components from a broad array of suppliers. Maybe an OEM is able to collect data on how the vehicle is used, but that data actually pertains to the supplier that provides the suspension or tires or sensors or even the infotainment system. It is imperative, then, for suppliers to be integrated into the innovation process driven by the OEM, no matter their tier, to ensure all stakeholders in a vehicle’s ecosystem are on the same page from a data perspective.
Linking data ecosystems with the Digital Twin
Royston uses this need to highlight the importance of the comprehensive Digital Twin in automotive processes. As a digital representation of physical assets across a product lifecycle, the comprehensive Digital Twin brings together data from the product itself and its systems, as well as the manufacturing processes that build it, the supply chains that provide its parts and even active operation. It acts as a single source of truth for every stakeholder in a project with the goal of maintaining data traceability and collaboration across teams and organizations.
Naturally, this does precisely what Ryan says needs to be done. By utilizing the comprehensive Digital Twin in their data ecosystems, automotive companies can build stronger relationships and alignment with their partners and gain a strong competitive advantage is the market.
Beyond connection
Connecting data is only the beginning of what the comprehensive Digital Twin can do, however. It also helps with the issue of turning collected data into actionable insights that benefit products and processes. With all that data more easily accessible, the comprehensive Digital Twin enables deeper data analysis that can be used to optimize product designs through simulation or enact new processes such as predictive maintenance.
Additionally, the ability to reach across the product lifecycle allows for better contextualization of the product and its environment. While the Digital Twin may be product-centric, it does also represent the factory environment that will build the product and simulate potential conditions it will operate under. Having insights into these different stages of the product lifecycle gives engineers the opportunity to optimize product designs and production processes before any of them are ever built physically.
Ultimately, the comprehensive Digital Twin allows data to be leveraged beyond a static point of time, to connect processes and ecosystems in automotive and turn that data into insights that can transform product lifecycles. Whether in design tools, in the factory or on the road, the Digital Twin enables automotive companies to unleash the full potential in their data and build new vehicles for the future in confidence.
Learn more about software-defined vehicles and digital transformation in automotive on The Industry Forward Podcast.
Siemens Digital Industries Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.
