2 Mapping physical systems to a digital representation

 

This chapter covers

  • Deciding what aspects of the physical world to capture digitally
  • Choosing information sources to build a digital model
  • Extracting and digitizing information from these information sources
  • Relating objects to each other spatially

Building a digital twin begins with the fundamental questions of what aspects of your physical world you should represent digitally, and how accurately do you need to represent them? This decision shapes everything that follows, from the sensors you deploy and the data you collect, to the models you build and the insights you can extract. The challenge lies in translating the rich, multi-dimensional complexity of physical systems into digital representations that are both technically feasible and provide business value. Getting this translation right is important because it determines whether your digital twin will be a powerful tool for optimization and prediction, or an expensive collection of data that fails to deliver meaningful results.

2.1 Defining your objectives

2.1.1 Identify specific challenges and opportunities

2.1.2 Establish measurable performance indicators and baselines

2.1.3 Map decision-making improvements

2.1.4 Define a minimum viable digital representation

2.2 A digital twin of the home

2.2.1 Mapping my home to a digital representation

2.2.2 Start with what you have

2.3 Information sources for digital representation

2.3.1 Historical records

2.3.2 Photographs

2.3.3 Videos

2.3.4 Engineering documents

2.3.5 External systems

2.4 Spatial and geometric representations

2.4.1 2D geometric models

2.4.2 3D geometric models

2.5 Spatial mapping and reference systems

2.5.1 Coordinate systems and projections

2.5.2 Coordinate transformations and conversions

2.6 Deciding what you need

2.7 Summary