A global research by Altair, American company specialized in computational science and in Artificial Intelligence (AI), involved over 2,000 professionals from 11 sectors in 10 Countries on the Digital Twin theme. Results describe the widespread use of the Digital Twin in numerous fields, with the automotive in the first place, to make cars more efficient and sustainable and to shorten the time to market of electric vehicles. The automotive industry is the second major user of the Digital Twin technology (76%), just preceded by manufacturers of heavy equipment. The primary highlights would reside in the energy saving and in the more efficient use of resources (time, work hours and raw materials), with fewer rejects and wastes. Digital Twin solutions decrease, for instance, the material waste, through simulations and tests carried out during the design process. In this way, the number of physical prototypes needed before the production start is reduced.
Concerning the electrification of motors, Andrea Benedetto, CEO of Altair, stated: «The issue is always optimization. The challenge is to succeed in designing vehicles that weigh less and motors with higher efficiencies for specific use missions. In this way, performances improve and consumptions decrease. In this ambit as well, the Digital Twin can make the difference since development costs. It allows a faster and more efficacious process, driven by optimization».
Concerning this, a recent Italian example is Newtwen, a Padua startup set up by a team of three young researchers and two professors of the local University who have developed a software platform that generates extremely accurate virtual replications of physical systems, able to integrate them inside systems themselves to improve the performances, the longevity and the reliability, without the need of adding new electronic hardware components. The declared target is revolutionizing the future of the mobility and of the sustainable energy by decreasing the environmental impact and the consumptions of electric
