Artificial intelligence will be at the center of many discussions during next week’s Installation Innovation Forum in San Antonio. Booz Allen Hamilton’s Tony Gonzalez will participate on a general session panel about responsible use of AI at installations, and a Booz Allen Hamilton team will lead a workshop on how to implement AI solutions.

We asked Booz Allen Hamilton’s Scedell Krepps about one of those innovative solutions, the use of AI-integrated digital twins.

ADC: What are AI-integrated digital twins?

Krepps: AI-integrated digital twins are virtual replicas of physical assets, processes or systems that are enhanced with artificial intelligence to revolutionize the way organizations operate. These digital twins allow organizations to simulate, predict and optimize performance in real time.

By integrating AI, leaders can analyze data from the physical world to make more informed decisions, foresee potential issues and improve operations without risking real-world consequences. This combination can reduce costs, accelerate deployment and provide substantially more value than either technology could deliver on its own.

AI-powered digital twins open the door to the advanced integration, analysis and visualization of the myriad disparate data streams that make up the world around us. Whether related to exploring deep space, ensuring national security or replicating a human body, the possibilities for using digital twins are emerging at high velocity.

ADC: How can digital twins and AI integration help improve mission readiness at installations?

Krepps: Many of the emerging use cases for an AI-powered digital twin are focused on installation readiness and the need to enhance installations as power projection platforms.

By incorporating computer vision, digital twins can analyze visual data in real-time, identifying anomalies and providing detailed visual insights into the state of physical assets. This capability enhances predictive maintenance and operational efficiency. Generative design, on the other hand, uses AI to create design alternatives based on specific parameters and constraints. This innovative approach enables the rapid prototyping of optimized solutions, ensuring that the designs not only meet critical requirements but also maximize performance and sustainability.

AI-driven digital twins can analyze data from sensors to predict equipment failures and suggest preemptive maintenance, thus avoiding costly breakdowns and maintaining mission operations. AI-powered digital twins can model the impacts of new infrastructure projects, optimizing design and construction processes to save time and costs while minimizing environmental impact. These benefits make AI-integrated digital twins a powerful tool for enhancing mission readiness and operational efficiency at installations.

ADC: How can defense communities be helpful partners as their neighboring installations adapt to these AI advancements? Is there a benefit across the fenceline?

Krepps: AI and digital twins provide great benefits to communities across the fenceline by improving the built and natural environment, which directly supports the well-being of service members and their families as well as the greater communities.

For example, AI-driven urban planning tools like generative design can help design more efficient and sustainable infrastructure by analyzing various factors such as energy consumption, traffic patterns and environmental impact minimizing the impact has on community resources like power and water, making the installation a better community partner while improving mission readiness.

Another use case where AI can be incredibly beneficial is in emergency response planning. Installations and community partners can collaborate to develop AI-powered emergency response systems that can simulate various disaster scenarios, such as natural disasters or attacks. These simulations can help identify vulnerabilities in existing plans and develop more effective response strategies. For instance, AI can analyze real-time data from multiple sources, such as weather forecasts, traffic cameras, and social media feeds, to predict the impact of a disaster and recommend optimal evacuation routes.

By incorporating AI into emergency response planning, this collaboration can lead to a more resilient and healthy defense community, benefiting both the military and civilian populations.