Enables readers to understand the concept of digital twins from an engineering perspective The Foundation for Digital Twins describes the technical characterizations of digital twins and explores the specifics of software and algorithms that facilitate a wide range of digital twin applications. The book discusses gaps between the current and future software solutions that must be put in place in order to fully exploit the digital twin capabilities, shows the relationship between digital twins and AI, provides an overall systematic approach to the construction and operation of digital twins, and delves into state-of-the-art applications of digital twins in smart cities and those focused on networking and cultural heritage. This book includes information on: Descriptive, predictive, and behavior models in the context of digital twinsHow to design a digital twin, covering distributed, interactive, top-down, and bottom-up approachesCentralized, edge-cloud, and totally distributed digital twin deploymentDigital twins as an integral part of the metaverse and the most promising future applications of digital twins The Foundation for Digital Twins is a timely, essential reference on the subject for professionals and researchers in software development and those involved in the implementation and management of digital twin platforms, frameworks, and related applications.