With National Twin Day approaching on December 18th, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is celebrating a different type of twin, one that is going to change, and save, countless lives in the coming years.

Similar to a human twin, a digital twin is a copy of something - but this twin only exists in cyberspace. Using sensors, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, digital twins are able to take data from a physical object and replicate it into a virtual form so it can be used to predict or rehearse what will happen at a speed and scale that would be impossible in the real world.

Digital twins have already been used for everything from predicting recovery time for athletes with injuries to planning return to office strategies post-pandemic.

As this technology improves, we now have the ability to model both physical activity and mental behaviors in cyberspace. Taking it a step further means creating a true digital twin of a human being - a cyber representation of the body, and everything within it. This “living” digital twin could be created at every human’s birth and live and evolve beside them at every stage of life.

A digital twin that evolves alongside a person would be incredibly powerful, updated based on inputs and expected scenarios to measure the effectiveness of drugs and other therapies, the impact of lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, drinking, living in a certain area, etc. From looking at your digital twin, a doctor might be able to predict future heart disease, or a therapist could suggest a new way to cope with negative emotions - the possibilities are endless.

Beyond humans, digital twins also offer a path to saving animal lives. Instead of testing new drugs and surgical procedures on animals in the real world, living digital twins of humans could allow researchers to get hands on without hurting.

Digital twins have already arrived to make a major impact in human quality of life. On Twin Day, we have the opportunity to celebrate what is coming next with this important technology.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 55 years. Its consulting-led, cognitive powered, portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India's largest multinational business group, TCS has over 608,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $27.9 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, and is listed on the BSE and the NSE in India. TCS' proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com.

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