Digital Twin And Product Passport In Industrial Engineering
HARTING explains why the digital twin and the Digital Product Passport are becoming key drivers of data-driven, AI-assisted engineering.
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Electrification is now taken for granted and forms the foundation of modern industrial applications. Attention is increasingly turning to how this foundation can be designed efficiently, and one topic in particular has taken centre stage: the digital twin. In an article for HARTING's tec.news, Andreas Wedel, Head of Digitalisation, Data and AI at the HARTING Technology Group's Digital Transformation Competence Centre, explains why this capability is moving from a "nice to have" to a key factor.
Convergence Of Power And Data
The clear distinction between power supply and data transmission is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Modern applications combine both levels within integrated systems, so electrification becomes an implicit given and a fundamental prerequisite for digital processes. At the same time, electrification can no longer be implemented sustainably without digitalisation. Digital twins, standardised data models and digital product passports are essential for the traceable and efficient planning, documentation and long-term operation of electrical systems. This is particularly important in industry, where planning, implementation and operation often take place in separate physical and organisational contexts.
The Product Passport As A Data Reference
The Digital Product Passport creates a shared data basis covering the entire product lifecycle. It serves as a structured repository of information on components and systems, providing machine-readable data that can be easily integrated into engineering tools, platforms and applications. This makes it a key element for end-to-end processes, automatable processes and constant data availability.
Automation And AI As Drivers Of Progress
As digitalisation progresses, working practices and routines in engineering are also changing. In the future, systems will independently suggest components based on existing data, drawing not only on information from the Digital Product Passport but also on contextual knowledge of processes, applications and regulatory requirements, such as those that apply in different countries. Manual checking is gradually being replaced by automated processes: analysing requirements, linking product and application data, taking regulatory requirements into account and proposing suitable products. The Digital Product Passport provides the structured information needed for this and serves as the central knowledge base for data-driven, AI-assisted engineering processes.
At the same time, requirements for data and system availability continue to rise. Globally networked applications, simulations and AI-assisted processes all require access to up-to-date information at any time, so product data must be permanently available not only to users but increasingly to automated systems as well.
Outlook
The technological foundations have already been laid, and the first applications are now available, particularly in engineering. Over the next three to five years, AI-assisted product selection and data-driven processes are expected to become widespread at all levels. The Digital Product Passport is thus moving from a "nice to have" to an essential lever that links the physical and digital worlds. Despite all the automation under way, people remain an essential factor: human experience, specialist knowledge and judgement cannot be fully automated. HARTING therefore provides information in both human-readable and machine-readable form and uses its digital tools to combine the strengths of people and machines.
Edited by Maria Brueva, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.
