Leading AI experts from across the UK came together at Ulster University in Belfast recently for the inaugural UKRI Digital Twinning (DTNet+) Ideation meeting.
A £3.2 million, UK wide interdisciplinary research network, the DTNet+ is aimed at advancing digital twin technology by fostering an inclusive and diverse community of experts to enhance the UK's digital twinning capabilities.
With a focus on engaging all regions of the UK, the DTNet+ selected the School of Engineering at Ulster University as the host location for its inaugural meeting, which featured keynote addresses and discussion around topics from the resilience and security of digital twin solutions, to the application of digital twins in healthcare.
Delegates heard about the national perspective on digital twins from Digital Catapult and a local industry case study of how digital twins are playing a role in the decarbonization of maritime transport with Artemis Technologies. The Network also holds widening participation in Digital Twins as a central tenet to the project and successfully launched an Access Fund to ensure all would-be participants could engage.
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Professor David Wagg, Co-Director for the Turing Research and Innovation Cluster for Digital Twins at the Alan Turing Institute and Project Principal Investigator, commented:
"This was a great opportunity to advance our network plus activities. Ulster University's Belfast campus was a fantastic location for the meeting, and we were able to see what the latest research developments were in the wider Belfast area with the presentations from the Digital Catapult and Artemis Technology."
Setting the stage for the upcoming sandpit meeting in Sheffield in September 2024, the network will focus on developing pilot project proposals into funding bids. These projects aim to advance digital twinning technology, ensuring the creation of intelligent, secure, and trusted digital twins for the future.
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Professor Dewar Finlay, Head of School of Engineering at Ulster University and Ulster’s DTNet+ Lead Investigator, said:
“The School of Engineering is delighted to have had the opportunity to host this event – one of the first meetings of the project since its initial launch earlier this year. The Network provides a great platform to fuel the development of future research in Digital Twin technology and solutions and we’re delighted to be involved in it.”
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