Control Engineering & Digital Twins Weekly Briefing — Week of Feb 28, 2026
The industrial landscape is rapidly evolving, with digital twins and AI-powered predictive maintenance leading the charge. This week, major players push the boundaries of virtual modelling while new research highlights the growing importance of data-centric approaches and machine learning in fault detection and system optimisation.
5 Industry Stories4 Research Papers
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// INDUSTRY NEWS
This Week in Industry
PARTNERSHIPFeb 23, 2026
NVIDIA & Dassault Systèmes Announce 'Industry World Models'
Moving beyond conventional digital twins, this collaboration aims to create comprehensive, physics-based virtual representations of entire industrial environments. The initiative will enable more holistic simulations and AI-driven insights for design, manufacturing, and operations, promising a new level of system-wide optimization.
Siemens Launches Digital Twin Composer for Large-Scale Projects
Siemens has introduced a new platform to streamline the creation of complex, industrial-scale digital twins. The Digital Twin Composer integrates 2D and 3D data with real-time operational information and AI-powered simulations, allowing for more accurate and dynamic virtual models of products, factories, and supply chains.
Saipem Implements AI-Powered Predictive Maintenance on Ultra-Deepwater Drillship
The Saipem 12000 is now equipped with an advanced AI-based system to predict equipment failures and optimize maintenance schedules. This marks a significant step in applying predictive analytics to offshore drilling operations, aiming to enhance safety, reduce downtime, and lower operational costs.
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS Unveils Digital Twins for Virtual Commissioning
NORD is now offering customers the ability to create and test digital twins of their drive systems before purchase. This virtual commissioning process, available through the myNORD online portal, allows for early validation of system design and functionality, significantly reducing project timelines and costs.
Rockwell Automation Opens New Customer Experience Center in Bologna
To accelerate industrial innovation in the EMEA region, Rockwell Automation has launched a new facility dedicated to showcasing the latest in digital twin technology, robotics, and industrial automation. The center will provide a hands-on environment for machine builders and manufacturers to explore and validate cutting-edge solutions.
This paper presents a digital twin framework for fault detection and diagnosis in thermal-hydraulic systems. By combining numerical simulations with machine learning, the proposed model can accurately detect and diagnose parameter changes, paving the way for more robust and reliable process supervision.
Fault Detection in Electrical Distribution System using Autoencoders
Sidharthenee Nayak, Victor Sam Moses Babu, Chandrashekhar Narayan Bhende, Pratyush Chakraborty, Mayukha Pal
Addressing the challenge of fault detection in power systems, this research proposes a deep learning approach using autoencoders. The model achieves high accuracy in identifying faults on both simulated and real-world datasets, offering a promising solution for enhancing grid reliability.
Predictive Maintenance and Digital Twins for Greener Power Generation
Agil Mammadov, Yaroslav Danilov
This study reviews the application of predictive maintenance and digital twins in the renewable energy sector across four countries. The findings indicate that these technologies are crucial for improving the reliability and efficiency of wind and solar power generation, contributing to a more sustainable energy future.
Digital Twin Synchronization: towards a data-centric architecture
Eduardo Freitas, Assis T. de Oliveira Filho, Pedro R. X. do Carmo, Djamel Sadok, Judith Kelner
As digital twins become more prevalent, the challenge of ensuring they remain synchronized with their physical counterparts is critical. This paper explores the complexities of real-time data synchronization and proposes a unified, data-centric architecture to address security, interoperability, and performance requirements.
"As AI and digital twins converge into unified industrial platforms, the line between simulation and operation is disappearing. What aspect of this convergence do you see having the greatest impact on your industry — physics-based modelling, real-time synchronisation, or AI-driven fault detection?"