> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cyberwave.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Digital Twins

> A single, live model of any physical thing — robot, sensor, or fixture — that you can read, control, and simulate from anywhere

A **digital twin** is Cyberwave's unit of "physical thing made programmable." It carries everything the platform needs to know about a robot, a sensor, a drone — or even a passive object like a table or a shelf — and keeps it in lockstep with the real world.

One twin gives you a 3D model, [physical properties and capabilities](/feature-reference/digital-twins#capabilities-map), sensor streams, a [live link to hardware](/feature-reference/digital-twins/overview#pairing-a-twin-with-physical-hardware), and a stable identity you can reference from code, MQTT, or the dashboard.

```python theme={null}
from cyberwave import Cyberwave

cw = Cyberwave()
robot = cw.twin("unitree/go2")
```

That's it — the twin is alive in your environment, ready to be simulated, controlled, or paired with the real robot.

***

## Why a digital twin?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="One object, one source of truth" icon="cube">
    Geometry, kinematics, sensors, telemetry, and access control — all attached
    to a single entity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sim-to-real, real-to-sim" icon="arrows-left-right">
    The same twin runs in [simulation](/overview/features/simulation) and
    against physical hardware. Swap modes with one call:
    `cw.affect("simulation")` or `cw.affect("live")`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Hardware in minutes, not weeks" icon="bolt">
    Pair any device with [`cyberwave
            pair`](/overview/index#connect-to-a-real-robot) — Cyberwave installs the
    matching driver and starts streaming.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Capability-driven UX" icon="wand-magic-sparkles">
    UI panels, SDK classes, and [controllers](/overview/index#controllers) light
    up automatically based on what the twin can do.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## What's inside a twin

A twin's [capabilities](/feature-reference/digital-twins#capabilities-map) are computed from its underlying asset and unlock features across the platform.

| Aspect                  | What it covers                                                                                            | Learn more                                                                          |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Physical properties** | Size, mass, payload, power source and capacity, geometry, 3D mesh                                         | [Capabilities map](/feature-reference/digital-twins#capabilities-map)               |
| **Locomotion**          | Wheeled, tracked, legged, aerial, surface; max linear / angular velocity                                  | [Locomotion config](/feature-reference/digital-twins#core-capabilities)             |
| **Manipulation**        | Joints, end-effectors, grippers, payload capacity                                                         | [Actuation features](/feature-reference/digital-twins#feature-to-capability-matrix) |
| **Sensors**             | RGB, depth, LiDAR (2D / 3D / 4D), microphones, maps — with offsets and FOV                                | [Sensor capabilities](/feature-reference/digital-twins#sensor-capabilities)         |
| **Navigation**          | Autonomy level, obstacle avoidance, [waypoints and missions](/feature-reference/environment-editor/index) | [Navigation capabilities](/feature-reference/digital-twins#core-capabilities)       |
| **Identity**            | A unique [slug](/feature-reference/concepts/slug-system) like `acme/twins/arm-station-1`                  | [Slug system](/feature-reference/concepts/slug-system)                              |
| **Recording**           | Per-twin [cloud recording](/feature-reference/digital-twins#cloud-recording) for video, audio, telemetry  | [Cloud recording](/feature-reference/digital-twins#cloud-recording)                 |
| **Access control**      | Per-twin and per-workspace [roles and visibility](/feature-reference/access-control)                      | [Access control](/feature-reference/access-control)                                 |

***

## Use a twin from the SDK

Every twin is reachable from the [Python SDK](/tools/python-sdk) with a one-liner. The SDK returns the most specific twin class based on its capabilities — `FlyingTwin` for drones, `GripperTwin` for arms, `CameraTwin` for cameras, and so on.

```python theme={null}
from cyberwave import Cyberwave

cw = Cyberwave()

drone = cw.twin("dji/dji-mini-4-pro")
drone.takeoff()

arm = cw.twin("the-robot-studio/so101")
arm.joints.set("shoulder_pan", 45, degrees=True)

dog = cw.twin("unitree/go2")
dog.move_forward(distance=1.0)
```

You can also fetch existing twins by their unified slug:

```python theme={null}
arm = cw.twin(twin_id="acme/twins/arm-station-1")
```

Twins also speak [MQTT](/api-reference/mqtt/main) and [REST](/api-reference/rest/TwinSchema) if you prefer raw protocols, or want to drive them from C++ or another language.

***

## A growing catalog of hundreds of twins

The [Cyberwave catalog](https://cyberwave.com/catalog) ships with **hundreds of pre-built twins** — robot arms, quadrupeds, drones, AMRs, cameras, microphones, LiDARs — and grows every week. Each catalog entry comes with a URDF, a 3D mesh, sensor definitions, and the right driver, so you go from "I have hardware" to "it's streaming" without writing integration code.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Browse the catalog" icon="book-bookmark" href="https://cyberwave.com/catalog">
    Filter by category, vendor, or capability and preview each twin in 3D.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Catalog feature reference" icon="folder-tree" href="/feature-reference/catalog">
    How catalog assets, slugs, and twin creation fit together.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Add your own twin

Bring a new robot or sensor in minutes. The easiest path is to let an agent do the heavy lifting:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Claude Skill" icon="sparkles" href="/tools/claude-skill">
    Run `/cyberwave` in Claude Code and describe your hardware — the skill
    scaffolds the URDF, asset metadata, and driver for you.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Server" icon="plug" href="/tools/mcp-server">
    Use Cyberwave's MCP server from Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client to
    create twins, upload assets, and wire up drivers conversationally.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

You can also upload a URDF ZIP manually — see the [catalog upload guide](/feature-reference/catalog#upload-a-new-asset).

***

## What to read next

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Hello Robot" icon="hand-wave" href="/overview/hello-robot">
    Spin up your first twin in the browser in 5 minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect real hardware" icon="microchip" href="/hardware/index">
    Pair a physical robot or sensor with its twin via the edge stack.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Digital Twins reference" icon="clone" href="/feature-reference/digital-twins">
    Full capability map, sensor schema, and feature-to-capability matrix.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>