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Siemens and Microsoft to converge Digital Twin Definition Language with W3C Thing Description Standard

Standardizing Digital Twin languages is crucial for interoperability

By unifying both languages, customers are offered consistent modeling experiences, mitigating fragmentation in an evolving IoT landscape. With customers typically deploying a mix of vendors in their infrastructure leading to lock-in and high integration efforts, this convergence will allow for simpler system integration and interoperability.
As virtual replicas of physical objects, processes, or systems that mirror their real-world counterparts in a digital environment, digital twins enable organizations to monitor, predict, and improve the performance of their assets, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. Standardizing Digital Twin languages is therefore crucial for interoperability, ensuring seamless communication and integration between different digital twin systems and platforms.
With Siemens already facilitating the emerging W3C Thing Description standard for future products in building management, power distribution and smart grids, extending this interoperability strategy to Microsoft Azure will bring about substantial benefits to customers.
"We see the convergence of two very similar Digital Twin languages like the DTDL and the W3C Thing Description as an essential move that will enable customers to describe the physical world in a way that is agnostic to specific IoT platforms,” said Thomas Kiessling, Chief Technology Officer at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. “This strategic alliance underscores our commitment to fostering collaboration and embracing openness."
Microsoft's Digital Twin Definition Language enables modeling of the physical world with Azure services, while the W3C Thing Description standard provides an interoperable representation of device interfaces and their incorporation of standard industry ontologies. Both languages have revealed many conceptual similarities during the initial stages of convergence.
“Ever since we invented the Digital Twin Definition Language and open-sourced its specification and reference implementations, we planned to standardize it through a consortium like the W3C. Therefore, merging DTDL with W3C Thing Description, in close partnership with Siemens, is the natural next step in our journey to democratize digital twins in the industry,” said Erich Barnstedt, Chief Architect Standards, Consortia and Industrial IoT, Azure Edge and Platform team, Microsoft Corporation.
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Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings, and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions, and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. As of September 30, 2023, the business had around 75,000 employees worldwide.
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Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a leading technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare.
In fiscal 2023, which ended on September 30, 2023, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €77.8 billion and net income of €8.5 billion. As of September 30, 2023, the company employed around 320,000 people worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
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Jessica Humphrey 

Siemens Smart Infrastructure

+44 7921 728517