What is a digital twin?11285

Originally Posted by DanSmigrod

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Screen Grabs courtesy of Matterport Website. (Highlighting of Digital Twin by Dan Smigrod)

Will you say Matterport Digital Twin going forward; or Matterport 3D Tour?

Hi All,

I noticed in December 2019, that Matterport has started saying Matterport Digital Twin instead of Matterport 3D Tour in its press releases.

I like it. Going forward, I will also say Matterport Digital Twin instead of Matterport 3D Tour.

Even before I got started with Matterport (July 2014), I was shooting 360ºs with my DSLR to create virtual tours. As many of us are (painfully) aware, the generic term, Virtual Tours, has been used to describe:

✓ slide shows with music
✓ a single 360º photo sphere
✓ a tour of 360ºs photos
✓ a 3D Tour
✓ Virtual Reality
✓ VR

And, even before there was virtual reality, the International Virtual Reality Photography Association (IVRPA) used the term Virtual Reality to describe 360ºs photos.

Plus Matterport tried True3D to try to differentiate itself.

No wonder that we are all confused about what to call a Matterport (intentionally and incorrectly used as a noun).

If we are confused, imagine our clients!

Clearly a Matterport is different than a slide show with music or a tour of 360º photos.

Enter Digital Twin.

I recall hearing the term Digital Twin for the first time at a SPAR3D conference a few years ago for what we all think of Matterport, Cupix, iGuide and other 3D (or Digital Twin solutions). I liked it then and I like it now because Digital Twin is descriptive and sufficiently separates itself from slides shows with music and 360º tours.

"A digital twin is a digital replica of a living or non-living physical entity," according to Wikipedia, siting an April 2018 IEEE Multimedia story titled, "Digital Twins: The Convergence of Multimedia Technologies" that says the term as been used since the early 2000s.

"... digital twins are being redefined as digital replications of living as well as nonliving entities that enable data to be seamlessly transmitted between the physical and virtual worlds. Digital twins facilitate the means to monitor, understand, and optimize the functions of all physical entities and for humans provide continuous feedback to improve quality of life and well-being," says the IEEE story.

Given that Matterport thrives in the AEC space, it makes sense to refer to a Matterport as a Digital Twin. The added benefit of using the term, Digital Twin, in other verticals is that Digital Twin is both descriptive and helps Matterport separate itself from solutions that clearly are not digital twins.

What are your thoughts? Will you switch to saying Matterport Digital Twin or stick with Matterport 3D Tour or Matterport Tour or Matterport 3D Showcase Tour?

Best,

Dan
Chief Photographer and Digital Twin Creator
We Get Around Atlanta


Screen Grab from a Matterport Media Release (12 December 2019). Highlight of Digital Twin by Dan Smigrod