Cloud-Native 3D Digital Twin
Most people seem to be at a complete loss when it comes to describing the cloud. Simply put, the term is used to refer to internet-accessible computer system resources, such as servers, databases and software. Instead of storing data on your computer’s hard drive, users can now conveniently store and access their data at any time and on any device. Cloud computing has changed the way in which we access, store and share information. Consequently, many industrial applications have sought to modernize their software by adopting some of the principles of online application, but with varying results.
Not all cloud applications are created equal. Cloud-native applications are created online utilizing the full power of the architecture to transcend traditional application restrictions. These applications enable organizations to lower maintenance costs, enhance scalability and improve workflow collaboration. Cloud-hosted applications are traditional applications that have been migrated to the cloud but are not designed to take full advantage it.
Industrial Cloud applications
Traditionally industrial shop floor is managed always locally through controllers and an MES software to organize production orders. More recently 5G, cloud, blockchain and virtual reality (VR) became available on the market and left industrial people scratching their heads trying to figure out how it can be applied to industry.
In industry, as the vast majority of software suites are legacy, when we wish to transition them to cloud they are only cloud-hosted applications, meaning they are not fully integrated with the platform.
Our 3D digital twin technology has been built on the cloud-native model for speed and agility. No longer bound to the constrictions of proprietary desktop apps, it has streamlined the path-to-production pipeline by allowing users to access software entirely from a browser. The faster turnaround of production actively encourages users to worry less about encountering hardware or operating system compatibility issues and focus more on what truly matters: bringing business ideas to fruition.
In addition, our 3D digital twin, as a cloud-native application, leverages the full capabilities of the online infrastructure, designed with multiple layers of security and continuous monitoring for weaknesses (e.g., continuous deployment, auto-scaling, auto-management, reoccurring updates, etc.).
Most cloud-hosted applications rely on traditional monolith services. Monolith services are single-tiered software applications where all the components are packaged into a single unit consisting of three parts: a database, a client-side user interface and a server-side application. In fact, the overwhelming size of a monolithic architecture application can make it difficult to manage, increase the start-up and deployment time of the application and a single bug in a module can result in having to redeploy the entire application.
In comparison, cloud-native’s 3D digital twin has horizontal scaling which allows for the segmentation of a single application into smaller functional components. Each part is self-contained, independently managed and significantly reduces overhead for developers. Horizontal scaling allows end-users to take full advantage of the elasticity of the cloud by scaling their application (i.e., CPU, memory and storage) depending on the needs of its users. These native applications utilize a single source of truth for data, allowing multiple designers and engineers to work simultaneously without the risk of managing multiple versions of the same design document.
For more information about how we store the data read Where is the data stored.