Implementing a Digital Twin, Design and Test, Test and Measurement Strategy

Accuracy, repeatability, and utilization are used continually when we talk about a test and measurement strategy. These fundamentals allow the balance between the technical and business imperatives that test contributes to a product or program's life cycle. From a design point of view, test is the de facto tool to ensure the theory of design meets the reality of the product or production specifications. In manufacturing, test is a balance between ensuring quality and cost. For support, test is about insight with simplicity of operation. All of these play an integral part of the success of a business, but to make this all happen, there is a fundamental assumption that the test and measurement strategy is implemented and operated as it was designed. The fact is, not all tests are created equal when looking across an enterprise and/or workflow. Not everyone develops a test strategy and simulates its effectiveness and efficiency on the product the same way. The idea of a digital twin strategy has been around for years in the mechanical world and is starting to gain traction in the electrical world to minimize the gap between theory and reality. These same principals now can be applied to the test and measurement world. Such a strategy can lead to greater accuracy, repeatability, and utilization of test strategy. It will also allow test or design changes to be made before designs are frozen for technical and/or performance reasons. This Design and Test (DaT) process would not only change the way design and test flows work, but how overall programs change the way they do business from concept through support. This paper will explore the history of digital twins and show how digital twins can and will change the way we develop and implement test strategies in the future. It will detail how the workflow throughout a product/program's life cycle will change to reduce time, resources, and cost while dramatically increasing predictability and repeatability, and ensuring consistency of test strategies. This paper ultimately will give a foundation for a blueprint to develop a test and measurement DaT/digital twin strategy, share examples of use cases today, and outline the business and technical benefits for implementing such a strategy.