Digital Twins Pave Way for AI-Enabled Smart Factories

It’s reaching the point in which major global manufacturers cannot effectively function without digital twins to help managers plan operations and expansions. Such requirements are fueling the digital twin market, which is growing at a rate of 40% a year worldwide, from $18 billion as of 2024 to $260 billion by 2032, according to estimates published in Fortune Business Insights. Growth of digital twins is especially seen in enhanced healthcare applications and advancements in 3D simulation and printing technologies.

Digital twin technology helps companies “identify cost-saving opportunities by optimizing resource usage, reducing downtime through predictive maintenance and minimizing inefficiencies in operations,” the report’s authors state. “In addition, large enterprises use twin technology for innovation in product development, testing, and design validation for the creation of high-quality products.”

See also: Using Digital Twins to Drive Manufacturing Efficiency

Digital Twins in Action

Foxconn, well-known as the manufacturer of iPhones for Apple as well as NIVIDIA chips, is leveraging digital twin technology to manage its global network of production facilities. The challenge for Foxconn was unprecedented complexity. Setting up, optimizing, and managing large-scale production lines across multiple global sites requires significant time and resources — a slow process using traditional method. “They limit a manufacturer’s ability to perform real-time analysis, dynamically optimize operations, or replicate best practices across facilities,” according to a report from NVIDIA, which is also Foxconn’s chip supplier.

To meet these needs, the electronics manufacturer employed digital twins powered by NVIDIA Omniverse and Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) to replicate its production facilities. The company’s digital twin platform is a virtual replica of its factories, enabling simulation-driven design, real-time monitoring, and optimized operations.

The integration of digital twins, AI, and simulation technologies supports advanced plant modeling, simulation, planning, and operations management. The platform connects virtual factories to real-world operational data, embedding dashboards with key metrics from manufacturing execution systems (MES), shop floor control (SFC), and automation systems. In addition, entire production lines are virtually assembled using the digital twin platform, enabling the manufacturer “to rapidly migrate and duplicate layouts between global sites (e.g., Taiwan to Mexico). New factory bring-up and scaling are speeding up significantly as a result,” the report states.

Managers can also explore production lines immersively while monitoring performance and resolving issues instantly.

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