App-Notes » Building Digital Twins with UWB Technology

Building Digital Twins with UWB Technology

digital twin uwb

Introduction : In the world of industry 4.0, a digital twin is a virtual replica of physical system - factory floor, warehouse or production line. However, a static 3D model is just a map. To be true, “Twin”, the model must behave exactly like the real factory in real time.

For many years, creating live digital twin was impossible as the data was always delayed. Barcode scans can also indicate where an item was 10 minutes ago, and not where it is right now.

UWB has emerged as missing link. By providing low latency, centimeter accurate location data, UWB turns a static digital model into a living, breathing real time simulation.

How UWB feeds digital twin model

To create a live digital twin, one need stream of precise X, Y and Z coordinates for every moving piece in the facility. UWB enables this through a 3-step infrastructure. The same is depicted in the figure. Let us understand its architecture.

UWB Digital Twin Based Factory Asset Tracking

  • Physical Layer (Tags & Anchors) : Fixed anchors are installed on the ceiling of factory. Tags are placed on forklifts, tools, worker badges and AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles).
  • RTLS (Real Time Location System) engine : The UWB system calculates the position of every tag 10 times per second using Time of Flight (ToF) method.
  • Integration : This stream of coordinate data is fed via API into the Digital Twin software or ERP system software.

The result of above set up is any movement (i.e. 1 meter to the left) of physical forklift results in same movement in virtual forklift (i.e. 1 meter to the left) on the control room.

There are numerous use cases of UWB technology. Some of them are as follows.

  1. One of the most critical applications of the UWB enabled Digital Twin is dynamic collision avoidance.
  2. It boosts efficiency.
  3. It records history. By analyzing recorded UWB data trails left by workers and machines over a week, managers can visualize “Spaghetti diagrams”.

Summary: A Digital Twin without real time data is just a drawing. UWB provides the “pulse” that brings the Digital Twin to life.