Digital Twin Technology Can Make Smart Cities Even Smarter

by Daniel Castro / October/November 2019 Source: Gov. Tech

As technologies like the Internet of Things, virtual reality and augmented reality mature, city planners can build virtual replicas of urban infrastructure to better respond to local energy and environmental changes.

Imagine the potential benefits of having a nearly complete digital replica of a city — a virtual model of its roads, buildings and public spaces — combined with real-time information feeds from sensors and other data sources. Residents could visualize the impact of new construction before breaking ground. First responders could run computer simulations to prepare for potential emergency scenarios. And city planners could better analyze and respond to local energy and environmental changes.

The advancement of several technologies, including the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), has made it possible to create “digital twins,” or virtual replicas of objects, processes or places from the physical world. The concept of creating “twins” to serve as tools to improve decision-making has long been used in engineering. For example, NASA developed two identical space vehicles for its Apollo program to mirror the conditions in space on Earth for training and flight preparation. More recently, the manufacturing sector has embraced digital twins to optimize production. As of 2018, GE had 1.2 million digital twins for 300,000 different types of assets from individual pieces of equipment to entire power plants. By analyzing real-time and historic data, the company can identify maintenance issues and reduce downtime and costly repairs.

Now cities around the world are beginning to use this same technology. Digital twins can help cities plan transportation systems, prepare for flooding and warn pedestrians about areas with high pollution.

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