Enterprise-scale digital twins unlock new possibilities for virtual controls testing

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, will debut its new Emulate3D® Factory Test™ capabilities at NVIDIA GTC 2025. This first public showcase will demonstrate how the solution enables factory-scale virtual controls testing, helping manufacturers conduct Factory Acceptance Testing to validate automation systems before deployment. Attendees will get an exclusive look at how Factory Test, integrated with NVIDIA Omniverse™ APIs and OpenUSD, is redefining digital twin technology with high-fidelity simulation and real-time collaboration.

"Manufacturers need scalable, high-fidelity digital twins to optimize system performance and accelerate commissioning times," said Matheus Bulho, senior vice president, software and control, Rockwell Automation. "With the launch of Emulate3D Factory Test, we're providing a solution that allows engineering teams to test, iterate and validate automation systems at full factory scale - leveraging the power of NVIDIA Omniverse to deliver unprecedented visualization and collaboration capabilities."

Factories are inherently complex environments, with thousands of moving parts, high-speed machinery and intricate system interactions. Traditional simulation tools often struggle to model these environments with sufficient fidelity and scale. Factory Test overcomes these challenges with a modular modeling approach, enabling teams to build, verify and combine mechanical, electrical, controls, process, robotics and device behavior models into a unified digital twin.

At launch, Emulate3D Factory Test will introduce key capabilities, including:

Multi-model orchestration - Synchronizing multiple system models for factory-scale testing
Modern DevOps workflows - Streamlining version control, testing and deployment while allowing all stakeholders to work from the latest version, track changes in real time and maintain alignment across teams
Test Runner - Enabling repeatable, automated testing at scale
Fault Framework - Simulating fault conditions to assess system resilience
Advanced full-factory visualization - Powered by NVIDIA Omniverse APIs, initially available via private preview.

"NVIDIA Omniverse and OpenUSD are redefining how industries use AI-driven simulation to optimize design and operations," said Brian Harrison, senior director of Omniverse Digital Twins at NVIDIA. "With Emulate3D Factory Test, Rockwell Automation is integrating Omniverse technologies and OpenUSD to bring next-generation digital twins to the industrial sector, helping teams simulate, validate and optimize complex manufacturing systems at an unprecedented scale."

The debut of Factory Test coincides with NVIDIA GTC 2025, held March 17-21 in San Jose, Calif. As part of the event, Rockwell Automation experts will present "Exploring Factory-Scale Digital Twin Simulation with Rockwell Automation" on March 20 at 11 a.m. PDT. This session will showcase how Emulate3D Factory Test, with advanced capabilities enabled by NVIDIA Omniverse APIs, is transforming industrial automation through AI-driven simulation and digital twin technology.

This announcement builds upon Rockwell's November 2024 announcement, which introduced the collaboration with NVIDIA to bring AI and physics-based simulation to industrial automation. The introduction of Factory Test represents another milestone in the journey toward more intelligent, autonomous operations.

Click here to learn more about Emulate3D Factory Test.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 27,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries as of fiscal year end 2024. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.