FOREWORD
To fulfil its potential, the concept of digital twin(s) has to evolve into a real and meaningful construct and not just another idea on the never-ending digital hype cycle.
A digital twin, as a means to link digital models and simulations with real-world data, creates new possibilities for improved creativity, competitive advantage and human-centred design. Digital twins can help deliver on the grand challenges facing society, including achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and addressing rapid urbanisation, population growth, and escalating infrastructure costs. In their current state, digital twins can improve our designs and the advice we give to our clients, yet challenges remain. Sharing data comes at a high cost and with great tension, as digital knowledge, practices and culture are not yet converging across the built environment. To realise the full value of our work, we must develop partnerships through deep understanding and greater collaboration around a meaningful approach: an inspiring vision supported by clear actions. In this report, we present the current state of digital twins in the built environment and explore ideas on what might become possible in the future. The research examines a broad spectrum of digital twins, both in use and in development, and finds varying levels of progress and investment in early prototypes, practice and governance. We hope that
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this research can inform and influence, so that we carefully consider the purpose of digital twins, human factors, integrity and security. There is a clear need to collaboratively define and lead the development of a digital twin narrative that works across the built environment. This report was developed through collaboration with global experts and their use cases, and we are grateful for their ideas and contributions. Our research included both enthusiasts and critics in our aim to explore how we can best combine human and machine intelligence, creativity, and technologies into digital twins that can help our mission to shape a better world. Our aim in sharing this work is to bring the industry together into an important journey. A journey towards meaningful developments of digital twins, which drive value for our clients and society as a whole. As we continue to explore and collaborate, we encourage you to stay in touch with us via digital@arup.com. We welcome your feedback and interest in creating digital twins of today and for the future. â–
