My smartphone, my (future) digital twin?

Roberto Saracco January 21, 2019 Blog 554 Views

There are plenty of apps that in different ways accrue data on myself. When will these scattered data morph into my Digital Twin? Image credit: Clinical Correlations

As of May 2018 there were some 250,000 fitness apps(!) available and more are coming as more and more everyday objects are generating data that provide hints on our wellbeing:

All of these objects have embedded communications capability and can send data to a smartphone. In turns, the smartphone has applications to make sense of those data and it has applications that using the smartphone sensors can accumulate even more data.

Of course, there are many more data about myself that flow through my smartphone. I receive my medical exams results on my smartphone (I access them through the smartphone) and I shared them with my doctor. My doctor writes me an electronic prescription for me to get the drugs at the nearest pharmacy and I pay for them using my smartphone…

I could even snap a picture of the pill box and have my smartphone telling me the pros and cons… basically i can make my smartphone aware on when I am taking a specific pill (and new blisters will provide this info automatically).

The problem is that all these data are mostly contained in silos whilst a real benefit could be derived by having all data accessible. There are a few apps that can integrate, up to a point, data accrued by other apps (like Health and HeartWatch) but they are a far cry from a real integration of all data.

I have been discussing these aspects with a number of companies and I found quite an interest in looking at the smartphone as a platform to host a person’s digital twin.

The main hurdle is not technical, rather regulatory and the potential outcry from privacy concern. It is difficult for a private company to overcome those concerns and regulators seem to be more inclined to stay on the safe side, meaning blocking the use of data. Yet, that is a pity since all those data can be turned into very valuable services both at personal and societal level.

Probably leadership in this area may come from organisations that are, and are perceived, as more neutral, like IEEE. By clustering academia and industry and showing the benefit that can be derived from data analytics applied to the personal space they may foster the Digital Transformation at personal level.

Personally I am convinced that today the smartphone is the ideal platform to create and host a personal digital twin (and, by the way, the only one massively available and affordable!).

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About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.

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