TCS’s Futurists presents a new survey around Digital Twins’ impact and use in industry sectors over the next decade. It highlights how this technology will become commonplace in key industries including healthcare, mobility, and sustainability.
Below are some of the key pointers from the report for your kind perusal:
I. INDUSTRIES
· Healthcare:
Digital Twin in Healthcare (52%) industry is most likely to be adopted, in the next 3 years. Digital twins of the human body can help ensure medical procedures are rehearsed and run smoothly and enable highly personalized treatment. Individual twins of human organs, such as TCS’ Heart and Skin BioTwins, already show the potential for future treatments. Digital twins within healthcare and life sciences will truly save lives – human and animal. It would enable doctors to predict health outcomes, monitor chronic conditions, and optimize treatment strategies. Digital twins can also streamline drug development and clinical trials, potentially leading to faster cures and more effective medicines.
· Households & Smart Cities:
Digital twins of smart cities (36%) and households (52%) are expected to emerge within 3-6 years. Experts believe digital twins will help people exist more sustainably and with a better standard of living by potentially lowering energy costs and providing more personalized and seamless experiences around transportation, shopping, and other elements of daily life.
· Mobility & Retail:
Mobility (52%), and retail (47%) were identified as the industries that will adopt digital twins most quickly, again within the next 3 years. Retail businesses will leverage DTOC (Digital Twin of the Customer) to predict spending patterns and preferences.
II. Risk factors:
These capabilities come with a new set of vulnerabilities and challenges that businesses and society must solve. While digital twins offer numerous benefits, they also raise concerns about privacy and security, as they involve collecting and analyzing large amounts of data. And hence, businesses need to ensure robust data protection measures are in place and that their use of digital twins complies with relevant regulations. The survey participants have highlighted the following challenges:
a. Cybersecurity- vulnerable to cyber-attacks
b. Privacy- can be misused, could infringe on individuals’ privacy rights
c. Data Quality – could lead to inaccurate models and incorrect decisions
d. Lack of Interoperability- could limit the overall value of the data
III. Conclusion:
Digital twins are poised to be a major force in the transformation of business and society in the next 10 years. As innovation continues, humans stand to benefit in incredible ways from the widespread adoption of digital twins. The world of the 2030s could see every person have a digital twin “live” alongside them, learning and changing in real time.
Mr. Frank Diana, Principal Futurist, TCS said, “The capability to rehearse the future will be key for businesses who must navigate an increasing number of challenges in the coming years. The progress of digital twins allows us to envision a world in which the testing of new technologies happens entirely in cyberspace. In the coming years, successful businesses will be those that have the foresight and agility to treat their organizations as modular entities where capabilities can be leveraged based on need. Scenario-planning from digital twins will be essential to achieving these capabilities, and in ensuring a responsible and sustainable approach to business of the future.”
