What is a digital twin?

A digital twin is a virtual model of a real asset, such as a machine, a production line, a mill or a forest, that is kept current with live data and can be used to test changes before they are made. IBM defines it as "a virtual representation of a physical object or system that uses real-time data to accurately reflect its real-world counterpart's behavior, performance and conditions". It adds that a key feature is "real-time, two-way data exchange between the object and its virtual replica".

Twin, simulation or shadow

A simulation models how something might behave, but it isn't tied to a particular asset's current state. A digital shadow updates from the real asset automatically but sends nothing back. A twin does both: it mirrors the asset as it is now, and its output flows back to change it.

How far forestry has got

In published research, not far. A 2024 review in Sensors found 34 digital twin studies in agriculture and forestry, of which 9 were in forestry. It notes that "forestry-related DT applications were published solely in the last two years (2022, 2023)". The one system classified as deployed was "a ready-to-use cyber-physical system simulating real-time rice crop conditions", not a forestry twin.

Sawmills have at least one documented success. A 2025 case study of "a pioneering sawmill" reports "a fully automated DT with tangible commercial success". Published studies also undercount practice. Log scanners feeding optimisers, and simulators of the line, have run in mills for years without the label.

In a timber business

In a sawmill, a twin could test a change to optimiser settings against the whole mill before it is made. A twin built from engineering models can do that from design data. One that learns from data needs years of consistent records linking inputs, settings and outcomes.

What to check

Ask whether a proposed twin is updated from live data or from occasional uploads. Ask whether its predictions have been checked against what actually happened, and by how much they missed.

Quarri for sawmills is built around how a sawmill runs, from log intake to shipped order.

Quarri is an AI-native data platform for the timber supply chain. It connects buying, production, sales and inventory for forest management, sawmill, wood products and pulp, paper and packaging operators.