Ricardo has become a “Groundbreaker,” one of a handful of international companies collaborating in the newly formed Digital Twin Consortium, which seeks to drive consistency in vocabulary, architecture, security and interoperability. Led by a steering committee consisting of founders Ansys, Dell, Lendlease and Microsoft, the open-membership Consortium represents an international ecosystem of industry leaders that are influencing digital twin development, usage and standards requirements.

Physics-based digital twins—virtual models of a process, product or service that allow for data analysis and system monitoring via simulations across a product’s lifecycle—enable continuous engineering and improved product design, reduce cost and time for testing, validation and deployment of new features, and have the power to generate predictive and actionable insights.

A digital twin may be used for simulation, as a kind of prototype to understand expected behavior, existing before there is a physical twin. It can also capture real-world behavior so that, for example, analytics and learning can be performed. Digital twins can also be used in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Digital Twins offer transport and mobility companies the potential of rapidly developing better, cost-effective products. Understanding and applying data from products as they are being used provides the ability to precisely meet customers’ expectations, as opposed to abstracting insights from obscure cross-sections of the market.

Data is not new in transportation, but with next-generation vehicles generating petabytes of daily data, having a proper framework for applying the data is critical to activating digital technologies. With our design and development, testing and validation, and operation and maintenance experience, Ricardo can help architect the application of digital twins, aligning with Consortium partners to make this technology real for the market.

—Marques McCammon, president of Ricardo, Inc., the Ricardo subsidiary leading the company’s involvement in the new Consortium

In addition to Ricardo, the open membership Digital Twin Consortium, which unites industry, government and academia to drive consistency in vocabulary, security and interoperability, includes Air Force Research Lab (US); Bentley Systems; Executive Development; Gafcon; Geminus.AI; Idun Real Estate Solutions AB; imec; IOTA Foundation; IoTIFY; Luno UAB; New South Wales Government; Willow Technology; and WSC Technology.

Most definitions of digital twin are complicated, but it’s not a complicated idea. What makes a digital twin difficult is a lack of understanding and standardization. Digital Twin Consortium members, including Groundbreaker member Ricardo, will develop and apply best practices to advance the use of digital twin technology across industries. We are excited to have Ricardo join the consortium to share their industry expertise with other members.

—Dr. Richard Soley, Digital Twin Consortium executive director

Areas where Ricardo’s design and engineering strengths may be utilized by the Consortium include:

Software Products and Services

• Suite of analysis solutions for vehicle development – from concept to detailed design.

• Translating Ricardo project experience into products for virtual system design, development and optimization.

• Dedicated solutions team to accelerate development cycles and continuously improve tools over time to meet customer needs.

• Variety of engineering services leveraging Ricardo architecture, development, and integration expertise.

Data Collection

• With more than 105 years of powertrain development expertise, Ricardo provides a clear path for data activation with the right tools and domain-specific expertise.

We have solutions for capturing, cleansing and analyzing vehicle data. Additionally, we are experts at leveraging data to predict and proactively deliver solutions to impending failures.

—Marques McCammon