Adapting the Digital Twin Paradigm to the Requirements of Biodiversity

The intellectual origin of the concept of digital twins lies in the domain of manufacturing and has become popular in the recent years. While the idea has attracted a variety of communities outside of industry, including the EC’s program “Destination Earth”, the use and application of this technology is not without its challenges. The domain of biodiversity particularly is significantly different when compared to manufacturing industry, as the type of data, its shape, the tasks at hand, the application and goals are quite different. To address this we present a seven step analysis of digital twin design, originating from industry, and we outline the adaptations needed for the concept to be applied to the biodiversity domain. At each step we identify the different components and concepts needed for the construction of a digital twin and present a set of requirements which can assist in creating a structured approach for implementation. Fundamentally, we argue that the concept of digital twins needs to be adapted in order to be of utility in the biodiversity domain, and equally the biodiversity community will need to make certain changes to its data management practices in order to take full advantage of digital twins. We identify a set of challenges, both technical and socio-technical, which can present obstacles for the domain. This paper aims to provide guidance for both scientists and biologists on how to construct digital twins for biodiversity and other natural phenomena.