What is a model? A model is a mathematical and probabilistic relationship that exists between different variables.
Model-based analytics used with the I-IoT try to describe the relationship between input and output or the internal status of the monitored equipment. This relationship can either be based on mathematical formula or inferred from data. In other words, we can distinguish between a physics-based model and a data-driven model.
At the heart of these analytics should be a digital model of the monitored equipment, called digital twins. Digital twins are living digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change. We will discover digital twins in the next chapter.