Fundamentals of Digital Twins, Modeling Approaches, and Governance

This chapter provides an overview of digital twins, including their origins and key characteristics. It also highlights the technologies and trends driving the rapid adoption of digital twins across various industries. The chapter argues that, in many cases, digital twin solutions are misaligned with the underlying problems they are developed to help address, leading to inadequate digital infrastructure development. To address this, the study outlines several critical steps to emphasize the importance of problem framing prior to designing and developing digital twins. Additionally, various approaches to digital twin development–such as physics-based, data-driven, and hybrid methods–are explored. Recognizing the importance of governance, ethics, and other non-functional aspects, the chapter sets a research agenda for further exploration and methodological advancements in these areas.