Can you hear me now?

The logistics tech tool known as the digital twin is becoming increasingly popular for modeling a range of business processes and systems, from national supply chain networks to the conveyors within a single DC. Now one company is using the approach to help telephone companies (telcos) design fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks for optimal coverage—an important consideration for the warehouses, retail stores, and truck drivers that rely on the high-bandwidth 5G service. 

San Francisco-based analytics specialist Heavy.AI says its HeavyRF digital-twin radio-frequency solution lets users simulate potential city-scale deployments and optimize cellular-tower and base-station placements for best coverage. The system uses Nvidia Omniverse, a computer platform from the chipmaker Nvidia Corp. that quickly creates metaverse-style, virtual three-dimensional (3D) online worlds.

“5G infrastructure is fundamentally very different from 4G infrastructure: It requires far more towers and antennas to provide the highest level of coverage and hence customer satisfaction. Because of that heightened demand, telcos can’t spend the same amount of time planning and locating each piece of 5G infrastructure,” Jon Kondo, CEO of Heavy.AI, said in a release. HeavyRF streamlines the process by allowing telcos to virtually test site-configuration scenarios before the trucks roll in for equipment installation, the company says.