«Digital Twins» are regarded as a key concept in the process of digital transformation that Museums, Archives and Libraries are jointly engaged in. The Digital Twin creates a parallel representation of real world culture in the virtual world experience. It covers a variety of usage scenarios. Visualization, algorithmic networking and translocal accessibility are most popular application domains. As digital tools they support documentation and restoration, as information carriers they modulate new approaches to cultural heritage. Material properties and dimensions of the original collection objects can be assigned to the 2- and 3-dimensional digital models as precisely as the patina of historical contexts and functions. With regard to e-installations or streaming services, the digital twin gives duration to the performative arts in the virtual space or makes the concert a unique experience in the digital concert hall.

The range of the concept is fairly wide! In particular curatorial practice and strategies of the Museum 4.0 draw on the digital twins. The blending of physical and virtual reality has become a standard of institutional and social communication and understanding of culture and history. 3- and 4-dimensional simulation technologies make possible innovative services, presentation concepts and gamification strategies. In the cyber race for attention, cultural heritage has to find its position in the virtual space through the use of AI technologies and intelligent VR applications. The ability of the twins to process large amounts of data efficiently and to keep them accessible in the long term touches most of the preservation-, documentation- and value chains in the cultural area – all processes and collection objects can be digitally referenced, simulated and controlled on interactive system platforms.

The feedback between the digital twin and the original artwork, thus, proves to be a crucial ethical, technical, legal and documentary requirement. How can real and virtual spheres be combined without challenging the unique experience of materiality or revealing, on the other hand, the fast-paced arbitrariness of digital objects in the ecosystem of the IoT? How can we certify the authentic quality of digital reproductions? What kind of complementary functions does the digital twin finally fulfill as a reference in science and entertainment, in the creative economy and gaming industry?