UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Digital Twins Hub at Penn State has launched the Digital Twin Literacy Center, a centralized space for students at Penn State to learn about and engage directly with digital twin models — virtual representations of real-life systems — and other immersive technologies.
The center will be led by Patrick Dudas, associate teaching professor of informatics and intelligent systems in the College of Information Sciences and Technology. It will be located in the Immersive Lab in the basement level of the Pattee and Paterno Library.
"One of the goals of the Digital Twins Hub is to provide students the opportunity to gain experience using immersive technologies,” said Jessica Menold, associate professor of mechanical engineering and of industrial and manufacturing engineering and Digital Twins Hub and Center for Immersive Experiences (CIE) director. “Not many researchers know what digital twins are and what the technology can do to amplify their research. The hub, and this center, aims to bridge that gap and to build literacy with both faculty and student researchers.”
Through the Digital Twin Literacy Center, students and faculty researchers can visit during open hours and try out different virtual and mixed reality headsets, use 360-degree cameras to make videos that can be viewed from headsets, and interact with and learn more about digital twins technologies. The center also aims to host monthly “build nights” where students can learn to build sensors, create 3D models, produce 360-degree video content and more.
There will also be a digital twin replica of the physical space of the center, which will be available for students to interact with and use to gain familiarity with the center’s offerings.
The center is open now, and can be visited by appointment. Open hours will tentatively be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Oct. 1. The center is located in the Immersive Lab, W003 Pattee and Paterno Library. For updates on hours and events, visit the Digital Twin Literacy Center website.
The center will be hosting two build nights in September. The first event will be held on Friday, Sept. 18 and the second will be held on Friday, Sept. 25. Both events will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Immersive Lab. Registration is required for both events as there is limited space.
“This is a space where students can see a connection between the world of compute, AI, data, sensors and visualization,” said Menold, who is also an Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) co-hire.
According to Dudas, the center also aims to hire undergraduates from different colleges to serve as “digital twin ambassadors” who will help coordinate build night events, create new projects and reinvent the CIE space for interactive and educational engagements. They also will work on projects developing 3D or AI models, fabricating sensors or creating immersive experiences.
“This is an experiential learning opportunity for students, especially undergraduates, who may not otherwise have the chance to gain hands-on experiences with this type of advanced technology that can be applied to many different areas of study,” said Dudas, who is also an ICDS co-hire and CIE associate director.
Faculty members interested in showcasing their work are also welcome at the Digital Twin Literacy Center.
“As the center is located at a central part of campus, any faculty members or researchers who would like to have their research project made available through the center are also welcome to contact us,” Dudas said. "This is a shared space for researchers to showcase their projects so that students and patrons of the library can learn more about the excellent work here at Penn State. If a researcher is unsure whether their work fits the theme of digital twins, we can discuss how to create a greater impact in their published work or new ideas using technologies found within digital twin research."
For questions about the Digital Twin Literacy Center and current open opportunities, contact Dudas at pmd19@psu.edu.
The Digital Twins Hub and Digital Twin Literacy Center are housed under ICDS and Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation, a research institute that focuses on “driving real estate innovation forward, tackling complex challenges and shaping the future of the industry.”