Smarter cities are born with digital twins
This article is also available here in Spanish.

Smarter cities are born with digital twins

My list

Author | Esther FuldauerThere’s a new buzzword in smart cities: Digital Twin.Digital twins are hot -but they are not new. They have been around since the early 2000s, but it has only been until now that they started to be affordable thanks to the Internet of Things. First born in enterprises as 3D digital replicas of physical assets, they were used for testing, planning and monitoring.Sensors and data analytics, AI, machine learning and drones, are feeding information real-time, giving life to these digital models, which have evolved becoming into more complex representations of their physical counterparts, and no longer of isolated single objects, but full-fledged systems of interconnected things.

What is a digital twin for?

In the realm of smart cities, a digital twin is a virtual model of a city, a replica of the physical world. They are rapidly becoming indispensable tools to visualize the pulse of the city in real time with layered data sources of buildings, urban infrastructure, utilities, businesses, movement of people and vehicles.If we could test everything in a virtual model before implementing, it would lower costs and the chances of failing in the real world. Testing and prototyping can improve a city’s resilience dramatically. By having real-time information of any emergency, planners could allocate resources, plan for operations and optimize traffic, which would improve by itself many other urban systems.A good example would be its use by first responders like firefighters. In the case of fire they could have access to the 3D model of the building. With the aid of Augmented Reality and AI, firefighters could know where people are and how to predict fire’s behavior.A digital twin of a smart city goes beyond the sensorization of 3D models becoming an urban platform for application development which can serve many different stakeholders. Cities then can become more democratic by having a vision of what is lacking in each community, improving their environment and their services. With open data and developing APIs that all stakeholders agree to, anyone with the proper permissions can access and develop apps for the platform creating bottom-up solutions.

Some digital twins in progress

https://youtu.be/y8cXBSI6o44One of the more advanced of the smart city digital twins in progress is Virtual Singapore, project which was overseen by Dassault Systémes using its 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The project offers four main capabilities to stakeholders: Virtual experimentation, test-bedding, decision-making and research & development.Amaravati, a greenfield smart city, will be the first city born with a digital twin. The initial 3D prototype of the city was built using Cityzenith’s Smart World Pro software.“Everything that happens in Amaravati will be scenarioized in advance to optimize outcomes, and adjusted on the fly to keep pace with change. This represents a giant leap forward for cities, how they’re designed, built, and managed, and how they optimize their relationships with the private sector and their own citizens”, explains Michael Jansen, CEO of Cityzenith.This technology is picking up pace as it is becoming more widely available and known to prototype and test smart city projects. Digital twins were ranked #5 in Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2018, with predictions that billions of things will have digital twins in the next few years. We will certainly see more and more cities creating their own digital twins in the years to come, a tool that is set to become a cornerstone of the 4th Industrial Revolution.Images | Virtual Singapore, Cityzenith, ItNeverEnds/Pixabay, María Noel Rabuñal Cantero/Unsplash

Related content

Recommended profiles for you

RG
Rosa Gonzalez
Diputació de Barcelona
Librarian
AO
Abiola Olusola
Westan Homes and Smart Cities
Chief Executive Officer
JW
Jon Williams
Futurity Jobs
Managing Director
JS
Julia Saklakova
MIPU
International Business Development Manager
JK
Judit Adrienn Kazsuba
Mátra Biker Sport Club & Municipality
Project & Marketing Manager, Founder of Tour de Matra, Digital Creator
JG
Joan Ganau Casas
University of Lleida
Professor
RA
Ruiz-Bowen Ana
Catholic University Of Lille- Hei
Smart & Resilient Cities Master Program Director
CB
Craig Brew
See.Sense
AM
Angel Meneses
TG SOLUCIONES
KZ
Katerina Zalamova
CREA IDEA LAB SL
Identifying new business and exploitation models for digital infrastructures.
RJ
Rudy Janssens
Agoria
GK
GEORGIA KOKOLAKI
Technical university of Crete
I am an architecture student
KL
Kilho LEE
FIBERPRO
BJ
Bryson Jarrett
PepsiCo
Senior Customer Manager Associate
TK
Tajendar Kalra
Valka Care and Services Pvt Ltd
As a Manging Dirctor of Company responsible for all business operations and business development.
RN
Ravindra Negi
Ravindra Negi
Marketing consultant and Digital Marketer in Hospitality Industry.
YA
Yuri Akiyama
Shimizu Corporation
Corporate Planning based on research and new business development in UK and Europe
MG
Marcos Gonçalves
MG ArqLegal Consultant
Technology Development for Smart Cities Academic Studies and System technologies Salor.
RD
Robert Dowell
Consultancy
Start-up
PA
Pilar Aguirre
Rastro Estudio
Architect