25th Anniversary Symposium: “Computer Models in the Workplace: towards Digital Twins and Beyond”

To celebrate our 25th anniversary with our customers, we organized a symposium on Tuesday the 28th of September 2021. The theme was computer models and algorithms for operational use. We were looking back to where the field came from, but certainly also ahead to what is coming.

What is special about models that are used operationally?

The specific challenges for operational use of models and algorithms will be central. This includes speed and reliability of software, and the usually poor quality of sensor data. We will elaborate on the ways to deal with these challenges. Multicores, multiprocessors, and GPU’s make computing much faster. Better algorithms can provide a huge increase in computing speed. Machine learning allows predictions where a mathematical model based on first principles is impossible. And it might replace numerical simulations in some cases. Developments in cloud technology allow for higher levels of scaling and robustness.

Four speakers will address these topics:

“Modelling, simulation and optimization in a data rich environment“, by Professor Wil Schilders from Eindhoven University of Technology.
Rijkswaterstaat water management forecasts, from 25 years hindcast to 5 years forecast“, by Marc Philippart of Rijkswaterstaat.
4DCOOL: a digital twin of the indoor climate of data centers” by Eric Terry from Actiflow and Martin Matse from ATS-global.

Tour over the RDM Makerspace

The symposium took place on the RDM-yard in Rotterdam. Apart from the lectures, tours were given over the RDM Maker Space, where young start-ups are working on products and services with the latest technologies.