Comment: Three ways Shared Reality can transform industrial sites in 2025

The term ‘digital twin’ is often misinterpreted. ‘Twin’ of course implies a pair, a replica, the other half. And ‘digital’ implies that it is a virtual replica of something – in our case, an industrial site. This is a broadly accurate understanding. 

But the common misconception to address is that digital twins are not a standalone solution and single technology: they are better defined as a strategic framework that harnesses multiple technologies. This framework can encompass everything from 3D scanning to AI and advanced web technologies – and it’s these components working together that build the virtual 3D replica of the industrial site.

This understanding is key to unpacking the concept of ‘Shared Reality’. Industrial sites are constantly shifting all the time. As they evolve, a mismatch can arise between a site’s technical data and the reality on the ground. In fact, our latest research has shown that industrial companies are unwittingly operating 30 per cent blind due to critical gaps and errors in their technical documentation. This presents a significant hazard. 

Shared Reality is a collaborative workspace for enhancing the management, operations and safety of industrial sites. It uses 3D scans of actual facilities to build an accurate, dynamic and evolving representation of a site’s physical infrastructure.

Crucially, in an industry first, it acts as the missing link between assets and their corresponding technical data. This means all stakeholders, whether they are engineers, management, suppliers or contractors, can work from the same single source of truth – a shared reality, as it were.

It’s an approach that can transform how organisations manage their industrial sites.

1. A new way to capture sites: 3D reality capture and local updates

Computer-aided design (CAD) systems have been a popular way for creating 3D objects. As their name suggests, they are great for designing new facilities or carrying out modifications in existing ones. But where they fall short is in creating up-to-date representations of assets and sites.

3D reality capture is the process of digitally documenting physical environments to produce accurate 3D representations. The best processes employ a combination of 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry techniques (where scans can be captured using devices like smartphones and drones), as the former allows for unparalleled detail for intricate equipment while the latter shines in capturing areas quickly.

Once captured and uploaded into the digital workspace, teams can create local 3D updates by simply uploading 3D scans of new assets and equipment. This is opposed to traditional techniques like “scan-to-BIM” or 3D CAD remodelling – a time-consuming and costly process that oversimplifies reality and limits a 3D scan’s wider use. 

2. AI as the missing link

While traditional digital twins show a site at a moment in time, Shared Reality captures any changes or imperfections to show how a site looks as field-level data is updated. This is a major transformation for the industry – and it’s down to AI. 

AI can build a digital workspace that connects equipment lists (1D), technical diagrams (2D) and reality capture (3D) of existing sites. In this environment, the AI ‘assetises’ the reality capture in two main ways.

First, it can analyse the 3D reality capture to identify objects in ‘the scene’ and produce an inventory list (especially useful if any assets don’t have technical data). Second, it can link assets to their corresponding technical information, like a piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID), which can be updated on the platform when any changes are made. This 3D reality model then acts as an authentic and up-to-date representation of the on-site reality. 

3. Consistent collaboration between all teams

Industrial sites are complex environments where many teams – engineers, field workers, asset managers, executives etc – often work from different data sources. This fragmentation leads to inconsistencies, inefficiencies and a misalignment on sites.

The purpose of a Shared Reality is to create a single source of truth for all teams to work from. By giving every team access to the same information and updated data, it creates a universal language and bridges the gap between teams, disciplines and external partners.

For example, with the 3D scene linked to technical data, teams can verify the P&ID, see what’s up to date, and add or remove any assets. Crucially, they are all aligned with any modifications made on site and informed of any changes.

Even if the assets are named differently in each data field, Shared Reality allows operators to have complete alignment between teams (e.g. at HQ and on site) by having the different types of data all linked together. This can make it up to 80 per cent faster than it would be otherwise to transpose names. 

A transformative approach to digital twins

With sites becoming ever more complex, digital twins are crucial to ensuring their efficient maintenance and safety. But it is understanding them as a framework of technologies which is key to harnessing their true value: a site is continually evolving and numerous data points need to be captured to reflect its reality.

Shared Reality utilises technologies like AI and 3D to build this accurate representation. With the digital workspace connecting 1D, 2D and 3D data, all teams can seamlessly collaborate and work from the same information. And it is this collaboration of data and teams that can transform the management of industrial sites to meet the challenges of today’s uncertain world.

Laurent Bourgouin, CEO Samp