Our Guest Post comes from Dr. Drew Stapleton, Professor of Operations Management at the U. of Wisconsin-La Crosse
A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical asset, process, or system. Unlike many other models, it uses real-time data from various sources, such as sensors placed on the physical twin, and applies analytics, machine-learning and AI to replicate real-world situations. Thus, the digital twin can be used to predict how the physical (twin) asset, process or system will react to changes.
The most often recognized first example of a “digital twin” is the NASA Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970 . During a routine procedure, one of the oxygen tanks exploded, leaving the craft critically damaged and leaking oxygen into space. The problem NASA faced was diagnosing and solving problems faced by a failing physical asset 200,000 miles away and outside direct human intervention. In real-time the Houston-based teams derived solutions by mimicking only what was available to the astronauts in a series of simulations and conveyed these to the crew on board the craft. Mission Control was able to diagnose the problem and to provide life-saving advice for the crew to evacuate the lunar module before oxygen ran out.
Digital Twins are a key enabler of Industry 4.0, whose proliferation has outpaced legal jurisprudence. In the absence of a regulated legal framework, it becomes prudent to regulate digital twin technology and generated intellectual property through carefully written contracts.
Intellectual property rights are key legal factors to consider. Digital twins act as reserves for data from the physical twin, including specific information detailing the lifespan of the physical twin asset’s design, construction, performance, and depreciation. Many digital twins incorporate copyright material, meaning the contractual intellectual property provisions should be updated regularly.
Data ownership, along with the sharing of co-created data, can become contentious when the twins are operated separately or by different parties. In the case of conflict or dissolution, the ownership of data created during the lifespan may be litigious. Conflict may be avoided by including data ownership in contracts.
Liability arising from the use of digital twins is arguably the most complex legal issue. Legally, to hold someone liable for any form of loss you must be able to prove that the liable party failed to fulfill their duty leading to loss or injury. Because digital twins are a network of connected systems, changes in any one system may have profound effects on the entire twinning system.
Building these provisions into contracts can avoid future legal issues and maximize the potential of digital twins.