UK Digital Twin Centre to ‘facilitate open innovation’ between aerospace and other engineering sectors

A new £37.6m digital twin facility will enable “open innovation” between aerospace, marine and other engineering sectors, according to one of its experts.

Led by the government-backed Digital Catapult, the UK Digital Twin Centre was announced today (1 May). It is due to open in Belfast later this year, aimed at accelerating industry’s adoption of digital twins – virtual models of physical objects or systems that integrate real-time data.

Providing access to ‘cutting edge technologies’, the facility is designed to reduce the costs of producing a digital twin and develop relevant skills in the workforce.

Backed by funding from Innovate UK and Belfast Region City Deal, the centre also has investment from aerospace and defence firm Thales UK, aerostructure company Spirit Aerosystems and sustainable maritime business Artemis Technologies.

Historically, aviation “led the charge” around simulation and other digital techniques, said Mark Boyle, head of technology at the Digital Catapult, to Professional Engineering. “That dissemination of knowledge has helped the automotive industry and other different industries like healthcare and med devices.

“We hope that by having that portfolio from the start, there is that kind of shared collaboration… we facilitate that open innovation approach.”

The partners will develop an initial six ‘use cases’ to demonstrate the potential of digital twins in maritime, aerospace and defence. “You could discover something in defence sector that could be very, very applicable to the maritime sector, the aerospace sector,” said Boyle.

Using a broad definition of digital twins, the centre will explore everything from rapid prototyping to real-world control mechanisms. This could include testing the parameters of a new prototype in simulation as a ‘digital shadow’, then transferring to an operational digital twin when a product is released.

Digital twins allow companies to explore “What if?” scenarios, said Boyle. “It's really a fantastic tool to manage risk, manage uncertainty and really optimise value,” he said, allowing companies to shift from “reactive to proactive” approaches to optimisation.

Tesla, he said as an example, combines digital twins of individual cars into “digital fleets”. The company can therefore adapt to regulations in different countries, he said, or optimise fleets for certain weather patterns or other constraints.

The centre will use augmented or virtual reality (AR and VR) technology to visualise the digital twins, and the Digital Catapult aims to use its AI expertise to integrate techniques that could improve their analysis or optimisation.

The £15m investment from the Belfast Region City Deal is aimed at supporting the region’s ambition to build innovation and digital capability, increase productivity, reach net zero targets, and create ‘more and better’ jobs. The centre has committed to contributing 230 new jobs in the manufacturing sector across the UK, and to generate £61m for the economy in Northern Ireland by 2033.

The centre could work with more engineering sectors in future, Boyle added.

“Today’s announcement is a pivotal moment in realising the real-world value of digital twins for the UK,” said centre director Deborah Colville. “The centre will give businesses across the UK access to the expertise, technology and resources necessary to accelerate the adoption of digital twins to reduce design and manufacturing costs, help meet net zero targets and drive competitive advantage globally.”