NIST Launches Exploratory Digital Twins Study

Digital Twins represent a growing global marketplace valued at over $8.6 billion in 2022 and forecasted to reach $138 billion by 2030.  The NIST internal Strategic and Emerging Research Initiative (SERI) program has provided Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) funding to perform a research study to identify issues and opportunities in measurement science, trustworthiness, innovation, and standards​ needed to support Digital Twin ecosystems.  Michael Pease from the Smart Connected Systems Division has been selected as a co-lead of this NIST-wide team, which includes representatives from different NIST Laboratories, to investigate the research opportunities for Digital Twins in areas such as Manufacturing, Construction, Smart Cities, Healthcare, Business, Communications, Energy, and Climate. This effort will help ensure that NIST is focusing on the most impactful research to support this growing marketplace and develop the standards, guidelines, reference data, frameworks, and metrology required to enable trust, security, and interoperability for Digital Twins.

The goal of this study is to engage industry stakeholders and develop a detailed overview of digital twins and application areas, industry needs and technical barriers​, and the standards landscape including existing efforts, gaps, and needs. This information will inform recommendations for research priorities for NIST across different labs and divisions.

The project kickoff with the NIST Associate Director for Laboratory Programs was held on December 7, 2023, and the project team is currently coordinating with members from the different laboratories to reach out to key stakeholders, identify existing standards efforts, establish focus groups, and begin organizing NIST-run workshops to be hosted later this year. If you would like additional information on this effort, or if you believe that your research may be aligned with this study, please reach out to either Michael Pease (michael.pease [at] nist.gov (michael[dot]pease[at]nist[dot]gov)) or Simon Frechette (simon.frechette [at] nist.gov (simon[dot]frechette[at]nist[dot]gov)).