Digital Twins in Smart Manufacturing: Adoption, Challenges, and Future Prospects

With the ability to provide real-time visualization of machines, processes, and systems, Digital Twins (DTs) have rapidly emerged as a vital component of smart manufacturing. This study explores the use of DTs across various industries, highlighting key challenges such as data integration, scalability, and cybersecurity, while outlining future opportunities driven by advances in AI, IoT, and edge computing. DTs have transformative potential to enhance operational efficiency, enable predictive maintenance, and support data-driven decision-making, even as they face technical and ethical obstacles. Through case studies and literature review, this paper presents a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape and the future direction of DTs in smart manufacturing.