Digital Twins and Virtual Reality

Over at the AspenTech blog, Emerson’s Ronnie Bains has guest-written a post, Explore New Possibilities With Digital Twins and Virtual Reality. Here’s the opening of the post to give you a flavor for it.

Digital twin is a hot topic these days due to the increased demand for technology that provides some short-term benefits during this time of unprecedented restrictions on workers and industry. As we wait to see what the new normal will be for asset-intensive industries, digital twin technology is being propelled forward to include enhanced functionality that goes beyond simply collecting and modeling information. How? By providing holistic data visualization that takes into account the bigger picture. A natural outgrowth of this trend is that industry is becoming more familiar with the digital twin concept and the tangible benefits it provides across a process facility’s lifecycle.

To enhance these benefits, Emerson, an AspenTech partner company, has added an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment to our portfolio called Mimic Field 3D. It provides a platform for training, planning and operations support well before a facility is built, allowing plants to develop outside operations without the need for actual unit operation exposure.

In the real world, operations personnel interact with field equipment, such as a manual valve, and need to locate it and take action to maintain or operate it. In Mimic Field 3D, operators see the corresponding valve and can take action, then see the impact on the process the digital twin is simulating. This is why it’s imperative that the digital twin is based on “first principles.” It should provide an accurate predictive reflection of what the physical process is doing.

Emerson's Mimic Field 3DMimic Field 3D provides a realistic way to develop operations skills without the need for actual unit operation exposure or the plant to be built. Leverage existing industrial 3D CAD models of your facility and equipment to efficiently develop an immersive and interactive plant infrastructure.

You can learn more in a webinar, Transform Operations, Manage Risks by Combining Process and 3D Immersive Digital Twins, on June 17 at 10am EDT/ 4pm CEST where you can learn about innovations:

…in process modeling, 3D visualization and digital twin deployment [which] enable operators to practice their skills in identifying and responding to potential issues, mitigating risk and optimizing performance.

Visit the Dynamic Simulation section on Emerson.com to learn more about ways to reduce the cost, risk, and complexity of operations using dynamic simulation with Mimic.

The post Digital Twins and Virtual Reality appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.