The global Digital Twin market is expected to hit $48 billion by 2026. Undoubtedly, the most conspicuous use-case of Digital Twin innovation concerns urban redevelopment and smart cities. Everything from power grids, utilities, streets, housing can be digitally reproduced for a holistic view. Digital Twin offers multiple advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, quality enhancement, time reduction. To design resilient cities, it is a prerequisite.
There’s no one-size fits all approach regarding most things. What works marvelously for a particular region, may turn out to be a damp squib for the other. That’s why a spirit of localism tempered with global ethos is the guiding approach to most policy and development outlooks. However, adopting Digital Twins is one consideration that not only transcends the boundaries of decentralized localism and unitary centralism but is equally needed at all levels: municipal, local, regional, national, global.
At the last day of GWF 2022 Digital Cities Symposium, industry experts discussed the necessity of making Digital Twins a key national priority.
“Digital Twin is crucial at national level because of increasing need that exceeds local level. Technology innovation requires focus on use-cases, adoption, and public-private cooperation”, says Thomas Pelzer, Product Manager, Cyclomedia.
From infrastructure modernization to revamping all the city arteries, Digital Twins can come handy and save millions. Cities that can withstand disasters and provide an unparalleled degree of connectivity, safety and interaction, keeping in mind the vibrant human ethos, are an aspirational target for most countries. And the pathway to realize that is through advanced technologies, fast data transfer and Digital Twins.
Data generation and analytics would be crucial but so would be interactive 3D models. AR/ VR etc will give the extra edge of simulation to these models. The benefits that city authorities and governments can reap from these is immense.
“Once you have data and 3D models, you can go to simulations. Value that we want to provide to the customer is not just Digital Twin, it’s allowing the ability to enable allow the people in the city, outside the city, and the whole ecosystem to collaborate”, says Jacques Beltran, Vice President – Cities & Public Services, on the over decades journey of Dassault Systemes.
Throughout the history of urban settlements, collaboration has been the key to survival and continuity. It will go on in the next stage of city evolution as well, and perhaps can deepen with human collaborative instinct augmented by an accessible technological interface.
Most obvious benefits of Digital Twins is that they are multi-dimensional, multiscale, interactive, highly precise and highly reliable.
Already platform mode of service, interconnected networks, tech convergence and the constant rise in consumer demands is reshaping businesses and offering competitive benefits to urban residents.
With 5G, drone-based delivery, smart mobility and new subscription-based automotive services, the city experience is going to be radically reimagined. Digital Twin will help operationalize the priorities and as well preempt any glaring lacuna or fault-lines that may emerge.
Multi-modality and multi-dimensionality will further receive a boost with new age technologies and digital transformation efforts underway.
Aerial survey is one of the most efficient, reliable, affordable, and safe ways to collect large-scale data for cities. That’s why there’s a need to institute liberalized mechanisms for it and ensure that the data can be shared without any hassles.
“Aerial survey should be national priority and not municipal priority because of the need for homogenization, standardization, interoperability, integration, and cost reduction”, explains Marcos Martinez, Secretary General, European Association of Aerial Surveying Association( EAASI) in a presentation on Ultra-realistic Digital Twins. The AEC sector and the smart cities segment would grow astoundingly with appropriate standardization and interoperability.
