Manufacturers and others interested in exploring solvable real-world problems associated with digital twins, data and information management are invited to a ‘hack’ event being hosted by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

In a series of planned events happening across the coming months, the hacks aim to build on last month’s successful launch of the Apollo Protocol white paper, which is calling for a common language across digital twins – something that currently doesn’t exist.

The first hack event, which will focus on aligning the value chain, is being held at the AMRC’s flagship Factory 2050 facility on November 17 from 9.30am-4pm. It is part of a series of hacks being run as part of the Innovate UK-funded Apollo Forum.

Jonathan Eyre, senior technical fellow for digital twins at the AMRC, said the widespread adoption of digital twins needs sectors to establish interoperability across their boundaries.

“Exploring how digital twins will enable better data-driven decisions is just the first step in a series of Apollo Forum events to articulate their unification,” he said.

“By promoting the forward trajectory required, it enables our respective ecosystems to deliver a key strategic framework towards net-zero alongside their own sector specific objectives such as productivity and sustainability.”

The white paper says the way manufacturing and the built environment approach value is different, and the intention of this first hack is to identify use cases for data and information management across the sectors, in order to explore how blockages in value transfer can be overcome.

The hacks will allow participants to share ideas and compare approaches with fellow professionals working with the digital twin approach and information management, identify opportunities to increase the value and longevity of products; explore how to use data to evaluate the use of products in the field in terms of function, performance, safety, and more; and look at how digital twins can be used to meet requirements for sustainability and how this translates into value in the supply chain. 

For more details on the event and to register to attend click here.