UNN partners with UK professor on Digital Twin Technology

...Hosts International conference on sustainable Engineering, industrial technology

By Ikemefuna Ikem

Prof. Paul Eke, a Professor of Digital Twin and Systems Engineering at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom has said that he will collaborate with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in the area of digital twin and sustainable engineering solutions.

Eke disclosed this in Nsukka on Thursday in a Leed Paper presentation during the 3rd International Conference of the UNN faculty of engineering, with the theme: "Sustainable Engineering and Industrial Technology Conference (SEITC),"

He said that digital twin technology is a digital representation of an intended or actual real-world physical product, system, or process that serves as the effectively indistinguishable digital counterpart of it for practical purposes.

"Digital twin is a computer program that uses real-world data to create simulations that can predict how a  product or process will perform, as well as achieve sustainable solutions.

"It is designed to solve problems through the replication of products and services for simulation, integration, testing, monitoring, and maintenance with remote monitoring
while having value and the same engineering solutions.

"This technology is changing the way engineering is being taught in the university and how it is being applied now all over the world, so it's a good tool for every evening county and Institution to adopt because the new technology has received commendations globally," he said.

Speaking on his partnership with the UNN faculty of engineering, Prof Eke said, "Yes, the university reached out to me to come and reciprocate what I have been doing globally in the field of digital twin engineering.

"So the collaboration is an integration of industrial practices and industrial sponsors in most of the technologies we will be developing here in UNN, adding another value in industrial financing of the engineering projects taking this engineering to solve solutions from the laboratory to prototype and optimisation to commercialization.

"Our target is to make sure that products and services outputs from UNN will be of global standard, we are going to achieve this through setting up a centre of excellence that would coordinate and engineer the application of the digital twin technology in teaching and learning," he said.

Speaking virtually, Hossein Rouhani, a Mechanical, Mechatronics, and Clinical Engineer at the University of Alberta, Canada in a keynote tagged; "Human Spinal Column."

Rouhani said that in-vivo measurement and interpretation of inter-vertebral angles were important for clinical evaluations, developing injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies.

"Motion assessment of the human spinal column using linked-segment models can enable estimation of inter-vertebral angles and moments.

"The application of conventionally used multi-body dynamics measurement and analysis approaches for the multi-segment spinal column is prone to experimental errors because of inaccuracies," he said
He explained that movement measurement provided objective information about movement disorders and that's why is widely applied for clinical evaluations.

Despite the accuracy of gait laboratory equipment, there is limited measurement space in most gait laboratories.

"In-field movement measurement using wearable sensors is preferred for clinical evaluations because it allows for long-term testing during daily life.

'Wearable sensor technology allows for real-time clinical applications such as falling prevention and mobile health monitoring during daily life, the clinical engineer said.

He expressed appreciation to the UNN faculty of engineering for finding him worthy to present a keynote during its sustainable technology conference.

In a remake, Prof. Charles Igwe, the Vice-Chancellor of UNN commended the faculty for organizing the conference and their efforts in ensuring sustainability in the area of sustainable Engineering and Industry Technology.

He charged engineers in Nigeria to adopt the emerging change in the engineering profession to be at par with what is obtainable globally, help grow the nation's economy, as well as proffer solutions to environmental challenges.

Also in a remake, Prof. Emenike Ejiogu, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, UNN said that the conference is in response to the ever-increasing need to galvanise international scholars to deliberate the issue of human development and sustainability are environment-friendly and economically viable.

"This international conference has been conceptualized to attract international and Nigerian scholars in the diaspora to interact with Nigerian researchers and academics on one hand and to bring together our illustrious captains of industry to rub minds with distinguished professor academics and scholars from institutions of higher learning and research centres from routine and different part of the world.

"It is common knowledge that Nigeria has an enormous number of skilled professionals in diaspora comparable to China and India. Regrettably, this has not translated into consequential economic development as our country continues to rank very poorly in almost all indices of sustainable development.

"I'm glad to announce our partnership with Prof. Eke of Leeds University, UK in the area of digital twin, he will bring his expertise so that we can look at some parts of our curriculum and see how we can key them into the emerging technology and improve on them," he said.

Dr. Bonaventure Okere, executive director, Centre for Basic Space Science (CBSS) Nsukka Regional Office who chaired the occasion commended the faculty for the conference.

Okere said that the quality of resources persons locally and internationally was an indication that the conference would be result-oriented.

The director urged stakeholders in education in the country especially the National University Commission (NUC) to review the university curriculum to reflect new teaching and learning in the world.

According to him, this would make it possible for Nigerian students and graduates to be at par with their colleagues globally in all areas of studies.

The two-day conference had about sixty papers scheduled for presentation during the Plenary and Technical sessions and exhibitions that showcased notable student and staff research outputs like Refuse-Derived-Fuel Gasification System, Wood Gasifier Stove, Thermoelectric Power Generation for Low -Power  Devices, Biomodel Identification System, among others.