{"id":1056,"date":"2017-08-11T13:02:41","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T20:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.plm.automation.siemens.com\/t5\/Digital-Transformations\/How-digital-twin-technology-is-increasing-competition-innovation\/ba-p\/426607"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:08:09","slug":"how-digital-twin-technology-is-increasing-competition-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/how-digital-twin-technology-is-increasing-competition-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"How digital twin technology is increasing competition, innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The digital twin is giving companies the ability to enable a fully digital enterprise and get their products to market faster than their competitors.<\/p>\n

I recently spoke with two colleagues about how they see companies leveraging digital twin technology to overcome challenges and continuously innovate, as well as the ways different industries can learn from each other about using the digital twin to perfect their products and processes. Dave Riemer is the Vice President of Aerospace and Defense Strategy, as well as one of our Thought Leaders, and Dave Lauzun is the Vice President of Automotive and Transportation Strategy. Here\u2019s what I learned. <\/p>\n

How are aerospace, automotive companies responding to the digital twin?<\/h3>\n

\"DaveDave Riemer is the Vice President of Aerospace and Defense Strategy for Siemens PLM Software.<\/span><\/span>The digital twin is an important part of innovation in any industry because it helps companies create a virtual representation of everything it needs to take something from an idea to a product. But a digital twin by itself isn\u2019t enough to help you innovate, Riemer says.<\/p>\n

When he discusses digital twin technology with aerospace companies, he emphasizes that the digital twin<\/a> is able to tell you that something is happening, but not why. The digital thread is what helps you connect that information<\/a> \u2013 and that\u2019s the message he sees resonating most with companies.<\/p>\n

\"DaveDave Lauzun is the Vice President of Automotive and Transportation Strategy for Siemens PLM Software.<\/span><\/span>\u201cThe thread ties that information together so it\u2019s no longer separate islands of information,\u201d he said. \u201cThis message is really resonating with customers, and that message is everywhere, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

This message also resonates with automotive companies. They\u2019ve known about the importance of a representative digital twin for years, Lauzun said, but they\u2019re realizing how much their digital twin technology must improve as they continue their work \u2013 particularly work on autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles, which he calls \u201cthe pinnacle of automotive innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

With autonomous vehicles, for example, it\u2019s impossible to test vehicle reliability using physical testing and imprecise analytical models because there\u2019s an infinite number of combinations to test<\/a>. Automakers need to include new factors, such as environmental conditions, other vehicles, pedestrians and traffic signs, as they test autonomous vehicles. <\/p>\n

Lauzun said the increasing number of factors to test, as well as industry predictions that virtual testing will soon face a 10-fold or 100-fold increase, is forcing automakers to realize that traditional methods simply don\u2019t cut it \u2013 and that their digital twins need a much higher level of fidelity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to do much more virtual testing, it\u2019s much more critical that your digital twin is as representative of the real vehicle and traffic conditions as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n

 <\/h3>\n

How will companies change how they leverage the digital twin in the future? <\/h3>\n

As Riemer has talked with aerospace companies about digital twin technology, the biggest change he\u2019s seen is the level of commitment to create one. Many of the companies he\u2019s met with are working to have a full digital twin implemented in their systems within the next five years, and if not, then well within the next decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, even a year ago, it was sort of an abstract concept,\u201d he said. \u201cNow it\u2019s much more tangible and real. They understand what they need to do through a lot of what we\u2019ve done as a company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Automotive companies need to continue making their models more representative of the many factors they need to test, but Lauzun says there still needs to be more fidelity in the digital twins they use. <\/p>\n

These precise models are crucial as they work on innovations such as autonomous vehicles. Companies working on autonomous vehicles now use what Lauzun calls environmental digital twins \u2013 twins that represent roads, traffic signals, other cars and even people \u2013 to gather that information and teach those cars to make accurate, safe decisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fidelity of these twins will be crucial as companies use the results of their analytical and virtual tests to make important decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to really understand if that vehicle will be able to swerve around that baby carriage in the road, for example,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve never had to deal with that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is the digital twin increasing innovation and competition? <\/span><\/p>\n

Innovation continues to be a competitive differentiator in the aerospace and automotive industries, and digital twin technology plays a major role in that innovation.<\/p>\n

\"DigitalBeing able to use digital twin technology is enabling companies like SpaceX to continuously innovate and raise the bar of competition in the industry.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Companies currently innovating in the aerospace industry, for example, are at the forefront of that innovation because of how they\u2019ve implemented the digital twin and the digital thread, Riemer said. He pointed to one company frequently making headlines<\/a> for its innovation: SpaceX.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat enables a company like SpaceX to develop a rocket for half the cost is their ability to, quite frankly, create processes that take advantage of the digital twin and the thread,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Aerospace companies have experienced plenty of headaches with the time and money it takes to fix problems later in a project. Riemer says many of these companies, including SpaceX, are realizing the value of leveraging the virtual world to fix problems and meet performance requirements before they ever build products.<\/p>\n

But the industry is a competitive landscape, he added, and Siemens PLM continues to work with multiple companies to ensure innovation continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re giving them the tools to develop cheaper rockets \u2013 maybe even cheaper than SpaceX.\u201d<\/p>\n

Digital twin technology continues to play a crucial role in automotive innovation, particularly with autonomous vehicles, Lauzun said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s doing it and using it,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one, maybe other than a few start-up companies, are trying to get to autonomous vehicles without very representative digital twins of their vehicles and their performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fidelity of the digital twin is the key to that innovation, he said, but companies are also using digital twin technology to work toward more perfect change management.<\/p>\n

Record keeping and model management hasn\u2019t always been great in the industry. Lauzun said companies have often found they were using older models on top of newer models to compare analytics. This can\u2019t happen when designing autonomous cars, which will need to make decisions affecting the safety of many people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll models need to be equally strong and have high fidelity,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

 <\/h3>\n

Synergies between the aerospace and automotive industries <\/h3>\n

Riemer and Lauzun agree that the aerospace and automotive industries are much more similar than most people realize.<\/p>\n

Integrated electronics in cars, for example, is making the automotive industry today more like the aerospace industry, Riemer said. The systems are all highly sophisticated, and they resemble a lot of what\u2019s been developed in the aerospace industry for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese systems won\u2019t be completely independent from the rest of the vehicle anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything is all electrical and integrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauzun also sees how similarly products are developed in both industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow you apply them to airplane or to a car is different, but the basic process and tools you use to design a car aren\u2019t that different than what you use to design an airplane,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Each industry is taking something from the other as they continue using the digital twin in their processes. In aerospace, Riemer says there\u2019s a much higher adoption rate from the automotive industry of robotics. Automotive led the way in robotics to do specialized tasks at a high volume, but they can be more flexible for aerospace companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need a robot limited to one or two welds or activities,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can be far more flexible, so we\u2019re seeing much more flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the automotive industry, Lauzun says companies are facing a lot of the same challenges aerospace companies face, including next generation design methods<\/a>, integrated software development, weight reduction, verification management and system safety\/reliability. These challenges are providing a unique opportunity for each industry to teach the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I see it, the aerospace industry has been ahead of the automotive industry in a few areas, and the automotive industry has been ahead of the aerospace industry in a few areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to how automotive companies can learn from how aerospace companies have led the way in system safety and reliability, as well as autonomous abilities. But the automotive world is ahead of the aerospace world in a few other areas, such as lean product development, or agile and lean manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can learn from each industry about the common challenges in these areas.\u201d \"AutonomousThe fidelity of digital twins is a big part of how companies will create safe autonomous cars.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Riemer thinks one big thing the automotive industry can take away from aerospace companies right now is the system safety and analyses they\u2019ve done for decades, especially for autonomous cars. He says the automotive industry could be in for \u201ca real surprise\u201d when autonomous cars hit the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inevitable that there will be accidents,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be far less than today, but things will still fail on the car. When it happens, it won\u2019t be you driving \u2013 it\u2019s going to be the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

That means that the automotive company that put the car on the road will be at fault, and Riemer says this means the industry will see big changes with liability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think product liability will dramatically change that landscape and affect the way they do their design and analysis,\u201d he said, adding that the digital twin will be crucial as liability cases go to court so companies can show how the digital twin was used to test and verify safety processes.<\/p>\n

These are certainly big challenges automotive companies must face with autonomous cars, but it isn\u2019t all dire. Lauzun thinks another technology that could come from autonomous cars has the potential to merge aerospace and automotive industries: flying cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re headed to the point where we\u2019re potentially converging these technologies,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect example of how these industries not only have common challenges, but would be merging together.\u201d<\/p>\n

These topics were highlighted at the 2017 Digital Twin Summit, where my colleagues and speakers from leading companies in the aerospace and automotive industries discussed digital twin technology. <\/em><\/p>\n

About the author <\/strong>
\nToni Boger<\/strong> is the editor-in-chief of Digital Transformations, the Thought Leadership blog for Siemens PLM Software. As the marketing coordinator and content strategist for the Siemens PLM Thought Leadership initiative, she oversees the content creation, management, publication and promotion for all content in the initiative. She graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and English. Prior to joining Siemens, Toni worked as an associate site editor for TechTarget, a technology media company.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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