In order to better protect critical infrastructure, the Bundeswehr University in Neubiberg and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) want to research new computer-aided simulation methods and AI technologies for so-called digital twins. The partners have concluded a cooperation agreement, as the university reports. There is also networking: Alexander Popp, head of the Institute for Mathematics and Computer-aided Simulation at the Bundeswehr University, becomes deputy head of the DLR Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures in Sankt Augustin near Bonn. A new DLR branch office in Neubiberg is also planned.
In the case of critical systems, virtual images, i.e. digital twins, are very valuable because they can be simulated with data support over their entire service life. This technology is already being researched at the DLR Institute in Sankt Augustin. In contrast to classic simulation models, digital twins can be constantly adapted, updated and further developed using sensor data. They can play a key role in the resilience management of critical infrastructures.
So far, physics-based simulation methods and data-based approaches have mostly been seen as opposite poles. In Sankt Augustin and Neubiberg, the research partners will take up and further develop the current concept of the hybrid digital twin. This should combine the advantages of the respective methods. In the future, for example, calculations from parametric simulation models could then be compared and linked with direct sensor data and expert knowledge. In the cooperation with the DLR, the interdisciplinary project Risk.twin plays a decisive role on the part of the university. At the signing of the contract, project manager Popp said that the wide range of competencies at the university, such as the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, the Risk research center, the Risk.twin project and the cooperation with DLR create “a unique ecosystem for research and development to protect critical infrastructures”.