| Organization | Definition |
| Digital Twin Consortium (DTC) [22] | A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity. |
| Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) [23] | A digital twin is a formal digital representation of some asset, process or system that captures attributes and behaviors of that entity suitable for communication, storage, interpretation or processing within a certain context. |
| ISO/LEC JTC 1/SC 41/WG 6 [24] | A Digital Twin is a digital representation of a particular physical entity or a process with data connections that enable convergence between the physical and digital states at an appropriate rate of synchronization, and provides an integrated view throughout the lifecycle of the physical entity or the process that helps optimize the overall performance. |
| Industry 4.0 [25] | Definition 1: Virtual digital representation on physical assets. Note 1: In future, the digital twin will be a synonym for the asset administration shell if the development will continue as before. Note 2: In the context of Industrie 4.0, the term asset administration shell is preferred. Definition 2: Simulation model. |
| Siemens [26] | A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical product or process, used to understand and predict the physical counterpart’s performance characteristics. Digital twins are used throughout the product lifecycle to simulate, predict, and optimize the product and production system before investing in physical prototypes and assets. |
| General Electric (GE) [27] | Digital twins are software representations of assets and processes that are used to understand, predict, and optimize performance in order to achieve improved business outcomes. Digital twins consist of three components: a data model, a set of analytics or algorithms, and knowledge. |
| Aspen Tech [28] | Digital twin is an evolving digital profile of the historical, current and future behavior of a physical object or process that helps optimize business performance. It is based on models and real time data across multiple different dimensions, leading to actions in physical world such as a change in process operation, safety, maintenance and design. |
| KBC [29] | A digital twin works in the present, mirroring the actual device, system or process in simulated mode, but with full knowledge of its historical performance and accurate understanding of its future potential. The digital twin allows “what if?” and “what’s best?” scenarios to be run automatically to determine available strategies that maximize profitability. |
| AVEVA [30] | Digital twin is broadly defined as a digital replica of a physical object or process. Its value comes from using living data to help understand the behavior of the system or “state-of-work” in the following ways: What could happen in the long-term FUTURE? (via Design applications that help determine the boundaries of the operating envelope) What could happen in the near-term FUTURE? (via Planning & Simulation applications that help model different scenarios within the operating envelope) What is happening NOW? (via Monitoring applications) |