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Why Digital Twins are No Longer Enough

Aug 12, 2025 - ATS Why Digital Twins are No Longer Enough - System Twins

August 12, 2025

System Twins vs Digital Twins for Enhancing Modern Manufacturing

By: LinkedIn post ATS Industrial Automation

Manufacturers are facing a challenge that’s only growing more urgent: rising complexity. As product designs evolve, timelines tighten, and expectations for efficiency and sustainability grow, the systems behind modern manufacturing are becoming harder to manage—and even harder to optimize.

The Question Isn’t Whether to Embrace Digitalization, It’s How to Do It in a Way That Delivers Real, Measurable Value

That’s where system twins come in.

System twins are advanced virtual representations of entire manufacturing systems. Unlike traditional digital twins that focus on individual machines, system twins provide a holistic, integrated view of the entire production line. They allow manufacturers to simulate, test, and optimize workflows before anything is physically built—reducing risk, improving throughput, and accelerating time to market.

In ATS Industrial Automation’s latest eBook, How System Twins are Eating Complexity for Lunch (And Dinner. And Breakfast.) they explore how this technology is helping manufacturers gain value by visualizing and optimizing full production systems before implementation.

Systems twins can:

  1. Help create and train teams virtually using immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments
  2. Predict maintenance needs and reduce unplanned downtime
  3. Improve layout efficiency and maximize floor space
  4. Accelerate commissioning and reduce costly delays
  5. Confidently scale production across multiple sites

Spotlight: VR Training That Builds Confidence & Reduces Risk

One of the most powerful applications of system twins is immersive training. ATS’s UReality VR Training platform enables manufacturers to train employees in realistic, interactive virtual environments—before a single machine is installed.

Whether it’s learning how to safely power down a high-voltage test device or navigating the tight confines of a rocket tank, VR training helps teams build confidence, improve retention, and reduce the risk of injury or equipment damage.

  • Aerospace engineers used VR to simulate the final assembly of a rocket tank—navigating a 40 cm access point and practicing maintenance tasks in a risk-free environment.
  • In a high-voltage testing application, VR training eliminated the risk of electrocution while standardizing training quality across global teams.

With VR training, companies can train faster, more effectively, and at scale—no matter where their teams are located.

If your team is exploring how to reduce commissioning time, improve training outcomes, or simulate your next system upgrade—you should download the eBook to learn how system twins are transforming manufacturing: How System Twins are Eating Complexity for Lunch (And Dinner. And Breakfast.)

Aug 12, 2025 - ATS Why Digital Twins are No Longer Enough 1 System Twins

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