Image credit: Digital Twin Studios
Digital Twin Studios creates
video games for safety training in the Oil & Gas industry.
Founded in 2013, DTS started as a training company offering traditional
classroom and on-site courses to make way for further Serious Games development
that leverages its field experience in Oil & Gas.
The company’s name derives from the actual term “digital twin”, a
concept introduced by Michael Grieves that dates back to 2003. A digital twin
is a virtual replica of a real world asset.
With the value proposition of creating
sophisticated 3D virtual replicas of the most intricate environments, equipment
and procedures, Digital Twin Studios offers both standard and custom training
programs for offshore operations
The Digital Twin
Concept
Digital Twin can be thought of as a connector between our physical
world and the world of digital technology - NASA implemented digital twin
technology in order to research areas of space not physically accessible. They
can be used by scientists, engineers, professors, or business professionals -
anyone who wants to understand how their products work and their present and
future performance.
Basically, a digital twin is a digital replication of a physical
environment and/or asset, and can be used for many purposes to optimize the
performance of assets. The twins contain information about the physical object,
including measurements, build history, technological capabilities, and
location.
Image credit:
Digital Twin Studios
Using
digital twins to create training environments
Aside from training in the Oil & Gas industry, digital twins can help
monitor and improve the structural integrity of offshore assets using physical
models of the real equipment. Recently, Royal Dutch Shell has become the first
operator to sign up as a participant in a two-year digital twin initiative to
assist oil and gas operators in the management of their offshore assets, improve
worker safety and explore predictive maintenance.
Image
credit: Shell
Digital twins use artificial intelligence, software, and machine
learning combined with datasets to create a simulation model that can be
improved and developed. These models are created mathematically to provide an
accurate representation of the environment itself. They use real time data to improve reasoning,
decision making, and the progression of intelligence. Digital twins use 3D
modeling to create these environments.
Image credit:
Digital Twin Studios
DTS and Digital
Twins Creation
DTS creates
digital twins of offshore oil and gas environments to provide an immersive,
interactive, and safe way for employees to train.
Many oil and natural gas training programs involve rigorous on-site
training. There are classroom sessions and field training involved. However,
many studies have shown that thinking activity during classroom lectures
decreases over time, and often reaches zero. Using a digital twin model of the
training environment and the industry standard game engine
The company has a library of 3D interactive safety training solutions
for the offshore Oil & Gas industry available on a subscription basis, as
well as the option for custom developed programs.
Off-the-shelf courses cover a range of subjects, including first aid,
power tools safety and hurricane preparation. Investments in R&D, in-house
industry experts, as well as collaboration with subject matter experts (SME),
ensure that technical training is up to date and meets industry standards.
Image credit:
Digital Twin Studios
“Virtual
Reality training is a valuable tool for companies to teach and train new
employees with specific procedures that ensure a job is being done safely and
correctly. Employers can train and test employees without sending them anywhere
near the work site, risking catastrophic mistakes.
Custom training programs provide clients with the option of adding
brand based dialogue and industry-specific environments. The existing framework
for oil, gas and maritime training available in DTS’s ready-made games also provides
a head start when developing custom content.
Digital twins can role play situations that have not happened and
predict their outcomes. The Oil & Gas industry is constantly looking for
ways to improve efficiency and productivity without sacrificing safety - that
is where digital twins come in, ready to monitor equipment and arm employees
with the most interactive form of training available.
About Digital Twin
Studios
Shane Istre was CEO and head of Business Development for a company
called Kheiron Holdings. Kheiron provided Quality, Health, Safety, and
Environmental consulting and training for the Oil & Gas, Pipeline, Marine
Vessel, and Construction Industries. One of the facets of this training
was the use of simulation in safety and operational training for onshore and
offshore personnel. Out of this experience, Shane came to realize that the
industry was going in an exciting new direction. One that utilizes artificial
intelligence and machine learning to create a kind of parallel universe where
businesses can – in a way – time travel into the future and model possible
challenges before they show up in the real world. This technology is
called Digital Twin. So Shane has pivoted his company to become a new
entity, now called Digital
Twin Studios