Are Digital Twins really the next Industry Transformation?
Yes^n
What exactly are they - in the Highway and Site Design fields?
I don't really know yet. I'm trying to understand and I'm documenting that journey here.
Bentley is dedicated to becoming THE Digital Twin Company. A couple of years ago I asked Keith Bentley why he is not out living on a sailboat somewhere. "Digital Twins / imodel.js / iTwins Services."
Nothing makes you want to be #1 more than being #2for a long time. This is his shot at redemption.
I've drunk the Digital Twin Kool-aid. It's coming, it's inevitable.
I've been in the industry over 30 years. OpenRoads was the biggest transformation I've seen - by far - in that time. This is bigger.
What's different about Digital Twins versus the OpenRoads Transformation is that OpenRoads occurred within the industry, Digital Twins is about integrating with every industry.
OpenRoads: look inward; Digital Twins look everywhere.
What's this mean to your company: your Total Addressable Market just became unlimited.
The challenges with Digital Twins include:
- Earthwork - the bulk of Roadway and Site Design - is at the tail end of this transformation. Other industries are well into their transformation.
- Bentley Civil for many decades - and those of us in Civil - focus on Design. Much of the Digital Twin opportunities lies in Construction and Operations. "Outward" has a LOT of directions and we're used to stopping our thinking at the delivery of the planset.
The Infrastructure Design industry is increasingly integrated into construction. Owner-Operators are increasingly expecting our design deliverables to seamlessly integrate into their Lifecycle Management systems. OpenRoads is built for this, but you have to understand the opportunities: Digital Twins - How do I Start?