Enhancing Smart Agriculture by Implementing Digital Twins: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Digital Twins serve as virtual counterparts, replicating the characteristics and functionalities of tangible objects, processes, or systems within the digital space, leveraging their capability to simulate and forecast real-world behavior. They have found valuable applications in smart farming, facilitating a comprehensive virtual replica of a farm that encompasses vital aspects such as crop cultivation, soil composition, and prevailing weather conditions. By amalgamating data from diverse sources, including soil, plants condition, environmental sensor networks, meteorological predictions, and high-resolution UAV and Satellite imagery, farmers gain access to dynamic and up-to-date visualization of their agricultural domains empowering them to make well-informed and timely choices concerning critical aspects like efficient irrigation plans, optimal fertilization methods, and effective pest management strategies, enhancing overall farm productivity and sustainability. This research paper aims to present a comprehensive overview of the contemporary state of research on digital twins in smart farming, including crop modelling, precision agriculture, and associated technologies, while exploring their potential applications and their impact on agricultural practices, addressing the challenges and limitations such as data privacy concerns, the need for high-quality data for accurate simulations and predictions, and the complexity of integrating multiple data sources. Lastly, the paper explores the prospects of digital twins in agriculture, highlighting potential avenues for future research and advancement in this domain.

Digital Twins in Agriculture: Orchestration and Applications

“…The contribution of the DT relies on the feedback to the environment, predicting possible situations derived from previous experiences. 21 2.2.3. Data Collection: Sensors and Actuators.…”

“…As technology progresses, the capabilities and applications of DTs are likely to expand further. 21 2.2.10. Physical Entity Model.…”

“…5G technology (ultrahigh reliability and ultralow latency) allows DTs for constant monitoring and analysis, taking and controlling precise actions to adapt the physical counterpart to any change in conditions. The contribution of the DT relies on the feedback to the environment, predicting possible situations derived from previous experiences …”

“…The successful implementation of DTs often involves a combination of these technologies tailored to the specific requirements and characteristics of the physical system or object being replicated. As technology progresses, the capabilities and applications of DTs are likely to expand further …”

An agricultural digital twin for mandarins demonstrates the potential for individualized agriculture

“…Though DT has broad meanings in various fields, it is generally defined as the implementation of virtual counterparts of real-world physical systems in a digital environment. It often allows users to simulate, model, and analyze data to make informed decisions 7 . DT relies on the integration of state-of-the-art technologies including information and communication technologies (ICT), Internet of things (IoT), remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) 8 , 9 .…”