SAS & Epic Games bring digital twins to modern factories

SAS has introduced enhanced digital twins for manufacturing, integrating its artificial intelligence and analytics with Unreal Engine from Epic Games.
Georgia-Pacific, a manufacturer of paper and wood-based building products, is currently piloting these digital twins at its Savannah River Mill. The facility produces items such as napkins, paper towels and toilet tissue. Georgia-Pacific is using SAS technology to optimise its deployment of automated guided vehicles and other manufacturing processes.
Roshan Shah, Vice President of AI & Products at Georgia-Pacific, stated, "With the help of SAS and Unreal Engine, we can create realistic simulations of factory operations. Imagine watching AGVs navigate through a bustling factory floor, reacting to proximity alerts, obstacles and rare adverse events in real time. The powerful analysis and photorealistic simulations delivered by SAS' enhanced digital twins can enable decision making and boost output at Savannah River Mill. And they hold great promise for improving productivity, safety and efficiency at other GP facilities."
RealityScan, a mobile application developed by Epic Games, was used by SAS to produce photorealistic renderings of the Savannah plant. These renderings are then imported into Unreal Engine. This allows Georgia-Pacific to refine its operations in a simulated environment, thereby avoiding disruption to its live production lines. Expectations for the pilot include cost savings and improvements in product quality.
Bill Clifford, Vice President and General Manager of Unreal Engine at Epic Games, commented, "With SAS' advanced analytics and Unreal Engine, GP created an amazing example for how a digital twin can create real-world value for businesses. SAS is opening the door for manufacturers to bring complex data and automated systems to life through 3D visuals. This will make high-fidelity, interactive digital twins more accessible so manufacturers can upgrade their operations, gain better real-time insights and save money."
The SAS software suite, which includes SAS Viya, is designed to analyse large volumes of data from manufacturing operations and sensors. The system enables users to run realistic simulations and find optimal solutions by integrating Unreal Engine simulations with Viya's optimisation algorithms. This approach allows manufacturers to test and refine strategies virtually before applying them to real-world processes, reducing time and financial expenditure.
Unreal Engine provides developers and creators with tools to build interactive three-dimensional experiences. Epic Games also uses the technology in its consumer products, such as Fortnite, and offers the same rendering capabilities for use in industries including healthcare, automotive, simulation, architecture, and film and television.
The real-time physics simulations, advanced lighting, and surface rendering features of Unreal Engine create highly detailed and realistic digital representations. These detailed simulations, when used alongside SAS's AI tools, can support more accurate forecasting and business planning for manufacturers.
Addressing broader industry trends, Bryan Harris, Chief Technology Officer at SAS, said, "As manufacturers hire the next generation of workers, they need to make the use of data and AI more engaging and appealing. Gaming technology – for a generation that grew up playing video games – is one important way to transform business decision making from charts and spreadsheets to immersive experiences with amazing visual fidelity. Gamifying business processes and tasks can make them less repetitive and more engaging, boosting productivity and bottom-line results."
The companies stated that the integration of SAS analytics and Unreal Engine is intended to make advanced analytics more widely accessible within manufacturing, extending beyond data specialists to frontline workers, engineers, and machine operators.
SAS plans to expand the digital twin capabilities to additional manufacturing clients and also explore opportunities in other sectors. In healthcare, the technology could simulate and optimise patient flows, predict maintenance for medical equipment, and enrich staff training, with the potential to improve outcomes and resource efficiency. Urban planning is another potential application, where digital twins could aid in developing more sustainable and efficient smart cities.

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