NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology

07/21/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Digital Twins Workshops Summary Report

Published
July 21, 2026

Author(s)

Simon Frechette, Guodong Shao, Michael Pease

Abstract

This report summarizes the outcomes of a three-part NIST workshop series on digital twins for manufacturing. The workshops convened experts from industry, academia, and government to establish a shared understanding of digital twin fundamentals, identify barriers and opportunities, and prioritize future directions for research and standards development. Discussions emphasized the transformative potential of digital twins to improve design, production, and lifecycle management, while also highlighting persistent challenges in interoperability; verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (VVUQ); cybersecurity; and workforce readiness. The report synthesizes these findings into research priorities and standards needs that will guide coordinated efforts to advance trustworthy and scalable digital twins in U.S. manufacturing.
Citation
NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 8620
Report Number
8620
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Keywords

Cybersecurity, digital twins, interoperability, manufacturing, standards, supply chain resilience, trustworthiness, verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (VVUQ).

Citation

Frechette, S. , Shao, G. and Pease, M. (2026), Digital Twins Workshops Summary Report, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8620, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=962206 (Accessed July 23, 2026)
Additional citation formats

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology published this content on July 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 23, 2026 at 09:22 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]