Digital twins — a virtual replication of a real-world object, place, thing, or other material object — are increasingly gaining ground across multiple market sectors. While digital twins evoke metaverse-style imaginings, and the term certainly applies, we can also think of a digital twin as a means by which real-world systems and processes can be more easily measured, experimented upon and ultimately brought back into the material world once optimized.
For example, research shows that digital twins can help develop optimal inventory management systems that cut costs while ensuring product availability, improving railway maintenance processes and even modeling trading behavior on major stock exchanges. In other words, digital twins are just the next evolutionary step in leveraging the virtual world to draw insight applicable to the material one.
These digital twin stocks are at the forefront of this new and emerging tech — but their success isn’t tied solely to the virtual world.
Autodesk (ADSK)
Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) is easily a blue-chip leader among digital twin stocks (if such a new and emerging tech has blue-chip equivalents). Autodesk’s major current contributor to digital twin development is in the architecture, engineering and construction space (AEC), which is already a core part of Autodesk’s operational outlook and an easy foothold into the new development paradigm.
Autodesk’s digital twin platforms help developers and architects visualize and adjust planned infrastructure and buildings beyond just layout, materials and structural strength. Instead, Autodesk simulates a range of behaviors and potentialities, including actual day-to-day utilization, weather event scenarios, traffic effects and even security events.
The AEC sector’s digital twins tech has already demonstrated improved facility energy efficiency, improved maintenance throughout a building’s lifecycle and more as the industry advances toward “Construction 4.0,” or a state of improved technology and connectivity that revolutionizes the AEC sector leveraging AI, machine learning, the Internet of Things — and digital twins, as Autodesk demonstrates.
Samsara (IOT)
As the company’s stock ticker implies, Samsara’s (NYSE:IOT) operational efforts largely center on the Internet of Things (IoT). But, not only is the IoT a major component of wider digital twins development, but Samsara itself was an early entrant in the newly developing paradigm, as evidenced by a 2022 article when the phrase “digital twin” meant little to industry outsiders.
I’ve looked before at Samsara’s strength in fleet and transport connectivity that enables improved logistic management and safety, but digital twins are another opportunity to expand Samsara’s transport-focused mission. The aforementioned 2022 article, written by a Samsara engineer, illustrates how digital twins can help improve fuel efficiency and preemptive fleet maintenance to keep more vehicles on the road longer while working more efficiently.
Samsara has a unique entry point into digital twin management: the company’s IoT infrastructure is a constant data stream detailing performance and a myriad of variables across the logistics and fleet management spectrum. These depths of data are key to digital twins modeling, making the new tech opportunities an easy spin-off from Samsara’s existing stack.
Rolls-Royce (RYCEY)
Surprised to see Rolls-Royce (OTCMKTS:RYCEY) on a list of digital twins stocks? While digital twins may have some application in luxury automobiles, the truth is that Rolls-Royce (the stock) has nothing to do with Rolls-Royce (the automobile) after a 1998 spin-off. Instead, Rolls-Royce is a high-end defense and aerospace manufacturer creating advanced aircraft engines — and leveraging digital twins to do it.
As with the AEC industry, digital twins help Rolls-Royce better project maintenance and repair requirements rather than relying on running the numbers in a probability-based simulation like the Monte Carlo method. By instead creating a digital twin of their engines within cyberspace and the depths of existing performance and maintenance data, Rolls-Royce doesn’t have to overemphasize edge cases as they do with probability-based functions; instead, management can create demanding stress tests virtually to assess engine function in circumstances likely never seen in real life, then walk maintenance schedules backward from there to determine optimal timelines.
Digital twins are just one of many of Rolls-Royce’s unique aerospace advancements, which include SWARM robots and 3D-printed engine components. These make Rolls-Royce a unique overseas digital twin stock that can improve your portfolio’s international diversification.
On the date of publication, Jeremy Flint held no positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.