Key enabling technologies are specific technologies that are considered crucial for economic growth, competitiveness and innovation. As part of the new National Technology Strategy and the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant 2024- 2027, Top Sector ICT has two new digital key enabling technologies: Neuromorphic Technologies and Digital Twinning & Immersive Technologies. This article discusses the key enabling technology Digital Twinning & Immersive Technologies.
Digital twins and immersive technologies together provide an interactive representation of the physical environment. These two technologies are linked because immersive technology is a possible interface for a digital twin.
Digital Twinning
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical object. This can be a product or a person, or an entire system such as a power grid or a production line. The virtual model is coupled with sensors and other measuring instruments, which retrieve data (often in real-time) from the physical environment, but can also be coupled with other models to simulate effects on or changes to the object without the need for a physical experiment.
The digital twin includes a (software) layer that represents the data from this model and provides insight through a variety of interfaces.
Immersive Technologies
Immersive technologies is a collective term for new methods of using a combination of image, sound and sometimes even touch to give users a new form of experience. Within this, the two main technology streams are Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
AR presents digital information as if placed in the physical environment, through a mobile device or a headset. This information can be presented as a flat “layer” or as a 3D object. VR brings the user into a fully virtual environment through a headset or screen, where the environment is computer-generated or based on 360-degree video images.
