The Digital Twin and the Internet of Things

Abstract:

Panel Title: “The Digital Twin and the Internet of Things”

Panel Moderator: Adam Drobot, Chairman, OpenTechWorks, Inc.

Panel Summary: The Digital Twin is an important part of the IoT landscape and the focus of attention across multiple verticals. The purpose of the panel is to shed some light on, what the “Digital Twin” label connotes, the value that the use of Digital Twins can bring, the resources necessary for a successful implementation, and the likely impact that Digital Twins will have on business models and the Internet of Things. The panel will first hear a brief presentation from each of the three participants and be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A from the IoT Day Slam attendees.

Panelist: Dan Isaacs, Chief Technology Officer – Digital Twin Consortium

Talk Title: “The Digital Twin – A Key Enabler of Digital Transformation”
Abstract: The term digital twin is being used with increasing frequency, but with little consistency, across multiple industries today. Digital Twin Consortium is working to cut through the confusion and help industries better understand the continuum of digital twins from simplistic to complex and the value provided.
In this presentation, you will understand the problems the consortium is working to solve and its priorities and key initiatives. Learn about the concept of the Composable Digital Twin and the impact Digital Twins have on business outcomes based on real world use cases.

Panelist: Larry Schmitt, Founder and Principal the Inovo Group
Talk Title: “The Business of the Digital Twin”
Abstract: Advances in digital technologies have progressed to where digital twins are being exploited as distinct drivers of value creation, A number of new business cases illustrate how digital twins will cause a fundamental rethinking of business models.
How will digital twins change widely used business models such as ‘Razor and Blades’, ‘Freemium”, “Aggregator” or “X as a Service”? What new types of busines models may be possible now that Digital Twins have reached a level of fidelity and connectedness that was unachievable a few short years ago? What could a future look like where Digital Twins are a ubiquitous and significant part of everyday life for enterprises and for individuals?
An exploration of existing and imagined business models and cases reveals many ways Digital Twins will be used to create and distribute value. Some ways can be anticipated but there will be many more that we cannot yet imagine.

Panelist: Flavio Bonomi, Advisor to the Board of Directors, Lynx Software
Talk Title: “Digital Twin Deployment at the Edge: Motivation and Infrastructure Requirements”

Abstract: There are many promising applications of the concept of the Digital Twin in Industrial Digital Transformation. The presentation will focus on the specific applicability of Digital Twins to enrich the control of applications in the Industrial domain, at Level 1 and Level 2 of the Industrial Automation pyramid.

The use of models of the real systems under control, running in parallel, alongside the real systems, can provide access to Digital Twin variables not direct accessible on the real systems, and can provide validation for control policies before they are applied to the systems, as well as optimization indications for complex distributed, hierarchical control systems. The deployment of Digital Twins in the context of automation loops requires a supporting time-sensitive infrastructure, at the level of networking, data distribution, and computing. It requires what we have been defining as Mission Critical Edge Computing.

The brief presentation will discuss and summarize the implications and the advantages of the deployment of Digital Twins on the Mission Critical Edge.

Speakers:

Dr. Adam T. Drobot is a technologist with over forty years of experience in industry, the public sector, and in research. Today his activities include strategic consulting, start-ups, and participation in industry associations and government advisory bodies. He is the Chairman of the Board of OpenTechWorks, Inc. a company specializing in open source software. Previously he was the Managing Director and CTO of 2M Companies in Dallas, TX, from 2010-2012, and President of the Applied Research and Government Business Units at Telcordia Technologies and the company’s CTO from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, Adam managed the Advanced Technology Group at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He also served as the Senior Vice President for Science and Technology as part of his 27 years of service at SAIC from 1975 to 2002.
He has published more than 100 journal articles, and is a frequent contributor to industry literature. He currently holds 26 patents. Adam is a member of Several Corporate Boards, and the FCC Technology Advisory Council. He is on the Board of the Telecommunications Industry Association where he has Chaired the TIA Technology Committee. He is the 2007 recipient of IEEE’s Managerial Excellence Award. For the IEEE he has Chaired IEEE Employee Benefits and Compensation Committee, the IEEE Awards Recognition Council, served as a member of the IEEE Awards Board. During 2017 and 2018 he chaired the IEEE IoT Activities Board that oversees the multi-society IEEE IoT Initiative. He holds a BS in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and a PhD. in Plasma Physics from the University of Texas.

Larry Schmitt co-founded The Inovo Group after having co-founded and built it’s predecessor, Inovo Technologies, from 2001 to 2010. Prior to Inovo Technologies, Larry was an executive at two technology startup companies that were acquired. Larry has a PhD in computer science with a special focus on computer vision. He has over 30 years experience in all aspects of innovation theory and practice.

Flavio Bonomi is a technology expert and visionary with experience that spans from low level devices and silicon to the broad level of networking and computing systems. Founder and former CEO/CTO at Nebbiolo Technologies, a Silicon Valley startup delivering the first complete Fog/Edge Computing software platform for the Industrial Automation market. This platform vision is now being broadly adopted as the future of Industrial Internet of Things and for the transformation of the Industrial Floor infrastructure. Flavio is now fostering and evangelizing technologies critical to the full manifestation of the Mission Critical Edge outside Nebbiolo Technologies, with a close engagement with Lynx Software and other initiatives. He spent 14 years at Cisco Systems and as a Cisco Fellow and VP, he led the future technology initiatives for Cisco’s forward looking work. Flavio and his team recognized a need for deploying modern computing resources closer to the endpoints or edge, adopting the advanced innovations developed for Cloud Computing. The solution would offer all the advantages of the Cloud married to the connectivity, security, real-time, and safety capabilities required in Industrial, Transportation, and Oil & Gas. Thus, “Fog Computing”, now also known as “Edge Computing, was born.

Dan Isaacs is a Chief Technical Officer of Digital Twin Consortium, where he is responsible for setting the technical direction, liaison partnerships and support for new memberships. Previously, Dan was Director of Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Xilinx where he was responsible for emerging technologies including machine learning, defining, and executing the ecosystem strategy for the Industrial IoT and Automotive Business. Dan also represented Xilinx for the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). He has more than 25 years of experience working in automotive, mil/aero and consumer-based companies including Ford, NEC, LSI Logic and Hughes Aircraft. Dan has been a keynote speaker and panellist for IIC World Forums, Industrial IOT Global conferences, Embedded World, Embedded Systems, and FPGA Conferences. Dan serves on international advisory boards. He holds degrees in Computer Engineering: EE from Cal State University, B.S. Geophysics from ASU.