The digital thread is a critical capability in [[model-based systems engineering]] (MBSE) and the foundation for a [[Digital twin]], which is defined as "a digital replica of a physical entity"<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Aheleroff |first=Shohin |last2=Xu |first2=Xun |last3=Zhong |first3=Ray Y. |last4=Lu |first4=Yuqian |date=January 2021-01 |title=Digital Twin as a Service (DTaaS) in Industry 4.0: An Architecture Reference Model |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1474034620301944 |journal=Advanced Engineering Informatics |language=en |volume=47 |pages=101225 |doi=10.1016/j.aei.2020.101225}}</ref>. In fact, digital thread was first described as related to [[Digital twin]] in the Global Horizons 2013 report<ref name=":0" />. Digital thread is a means to gather data for use in the development of a [[Digital twin]]; "some argue [digital thread] is the backbone of digital twin applications"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kwon |first=Soonjo |last2=Monnier |first2=Laetitia V. |last3=Barbau |first3=Raphael |last4=Bernstein |first4=William Z. |date=October 2020-10 |title=Enriching standards-based digital thread by fusing as-designed and as-inspected data using knowledge graphs |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1474034620300719 |journal=Advanced Engineering Informatics |language=en |volume=46 |pages=101102 |doi=10.1016/j.aei.2020.101102}}</ref>. "digital thread platforms can capture data from different systems, standardize it, and provide a seamless link between the physical process or product and the digital twin"<ref>{{Cite web |last=ahuff |date=2022-06-04 |title=How digital twins, IIoT technologies benefit operations |url=https://www.controleng.com/articles/how-digital-twins-iiot-technologies-benefit-operations/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Control Engineering |language=en-US}}</ref>. The term digital thread is also used to describe the traceability of the [[digital twin]] back to the requirements, parts and control systems that make up the physical asset. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gardnerweb.com/articles/what-are-digital-twins-and-digital-threads|title=What Are Digital Twins and Digital Threads?|last=Gould|first=Lawrence S.|website=Automotive Design & Production|access-date=2021-07-27}}</ref>
Although digital thread and [[Digital twin]] are "every so often understood to be synonymous...they are not the same as Digital Twin relies on real-time data from its physical counterpart"<ref name=":3" />. "In short, digital thread describes the process while digital twin symbolizes technology"<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Daase |first=Christian |last2=Haertel |first2=Christian |last3=Nahhas |first3=Abdulrahman |last4=Volk |first4=Matthias |last5=Steigerwald |first5=Heiko |last6=Ramesohl |first6=Achim |last7=Schneider |first7=Bernd |last8=Zeier |first8=Alexander |last9=Turowski |first9=Klaus |date=2023 |title=Following the Digital Thread – A Cloud-Based Observation |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1877050922024723 |journal=Procedia Computer Science |language=en |volume=217 |pages=1867–1876 |doi=10.1016/j.procs.2022.12.387}}</ref>. "Compared to the digital twin, the digital thread can support decision-making by designing and regulating the data interaction and processing instead of high-fidelity system models"<ref name=":1" />.
