The Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) will take part in the new digital twin research network hosted by the Alan Turing Institute, which has secured £3 million from UKRI. The funding will promote collaboration and innovation across academia, industry and other stakeholders.
Digital twins are computational models designed to replicate virtually a physical object or process. They provide useful insights that can significantly increase the functionality of an object or process.
The new network community has been identified as an urgent need to fill gaps in underpinning research related to digital twins.
Dr Jennifer Schooling, CSIC director, is one of the co-investigators for the award, alongside other co-investigators based at the University of Exeter, the Ulster University, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) and other members of the leadership team based at the University of Edinburgh, Rothamsted Research, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Warwick and the University of Newcastle.
The award will run for five years and will aim to:
- facilitate the exchange of knowledge and encourage new cross-disciplinary collaborations and innovations for digital twins;
- accelerate the development of the underpinning academic research that is needed to develop robust, resilient and trusted digital twins that can operate at speed and scale;
- help set the UK digital twin agenda via thought-leadership activities;
- facilitate explorative cross-disciplinary pilot research projects and feasibility studies that stimulate further funding applications and opportunities relating to digital twins;
- support outreach, skills development and sustainability for digital twin technology.
Professor Adrian Smith, Director at the Alan Turing Institute, said: “Digital twins are an area of strategic priority for the Turing and this award demonstrates our continued leadership in this area. It aligns with the focus in our strategy to translate research excellence into societal impact across a range of challenges. With the right collaboration opportunities, researchers have the ability to address some of the biggest challenges facing society today.”
Read more here.