They are used in industry, medicine, construction, urban development and in simulations for autonomous driving: Digital twins virtually reproduce what happens in reality - often invisibly. They therefore replace models and prototypes, enable the comprehensive use of data and provide information about the properties or behaviour of the real twin. Carinthia is now becoming a hot spot for research into digital twins: JOANNEUM RESEARCH is now setting up a Digital Twin Lab in Klagenfurt. The state of Carinthia, which has a stake in the research centre, is funding the initial set-up phase with one million euros.
"We have been continuously expanding the research landscape in Carinthia since 2016. In addition to the already established institutes ROBOTICS, LIFE and POLICIES, our experts from DIGITAL are now also contributing their know-how," reports Heinz Mayer, Managing Director of JOANNEUM RESEARCH. "Because digitalisation is the key: we will have to spend much more time in digital spaces in order to remain fit for the future and continue to build up expertise in order to support companies with innovations and make them resilient. With the Digital Twin Lab in Carinthia, completely new implementation possibilities can be opened up."
Matthias Rüther, Director at the DIGITAL Institute, is an expert in image processing and has strategically developed the research topic at the institute. His vision for the Klagenfurt site: "We will further intensify this research topic here and focus on the digital twins of transport routes, mobility, agriculture, machines, products and services. This will open up new subject areas in simulation, transport, spatial planning, asset management, building information modelling and education."
Completion by 2027
The laboratory will be set up quickly. A project team will be established during the ramp-up phase until March 2024. The entire site with ten employees, 100 square metres of laboratory space and 130 square metres of office space will be completed by 2027. Facilities and research equipment worth 1.3 million euros have already been relocated to the site. The funds that Carinthia is contributing for the start-up phase come from the European Resilience Fund.
JOANNEUM RESEARCH has been at the site since 2015, when ROBOTICS, the Institute of Robotics and Flexible Production, was opened. This was followed by the two institutes POLICIES and LIFE. Today, 22 experts are researching current issues and supporting numerous companies in Carinthia with sustainable solutions.
"The participation of the State of Carinthia in JOANNEUM RESEARCH is a particularly important pillar of the strong and constantly growing southern research axis," emphasises Carinthia's Governor Peter Kaiser. "The research institutions in the state, like the educational institutions, are among our most important resources, because they produce the raw material of the future: education."
Gaby Schaunig, Research Officer and Deputy Governor, also believes that the JOANNEUM RESEARCH site at Klagenfurt Lakeside Park is perfectly integrated into Carinthia's vibrant research landscape: "There are numerous points of contact around the Digital Twin Lab with the University of Klagenfurt, Lakeside Labs, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Wood K Plus and the Digital Innovation Hub South."
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