By Saeed Moradi, R&D Specialist - Innovation
In the 1960s NASA decided to create a replica of its spacecraft to simulate the systems in the Apollo 13 mission. This was done to adapt the simulations of the spacecraft's performance to the new environment of space and troubleshoot different issues during the mission. In the costruction industry, with the emergence of 2D CAD in the 1980s and 3D models in the 2000s, digitization of building and construction information started gaining momentum and enabled cloud based shared environments. The concept of Digital Twin could then be introduced and help the industry to minimize errors and increase productivity. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and mixed reality has also boosted the adoption of the digital twin concept in the construction industry. Currently, digital twin market is valued USD 6.9 bn and it is expected to grow to USD 73.5 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 60.6%.1
What is a digital twin?
A Digital Twin is a dynamic virtual representation of a physical entity or system that is synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity. In the construction industry, a digital twin acts as a virtual model that simulates the performance of an asset in real time and can be used for tracking and analyzing various parameters related to a building such as occupancy rate, energy consumption, maintenance cost, etc. A digital twin helps architects and engineers make better decisions and provide higher-quality design solutions.
Building a Digital Twin requires 3D models of the built environment that can be enabled by BIM processes and generated by Computer-Aided Design (CAD) or using scanning technologies such as 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry. Once the models are ready, various sensory and visional data can be added to the Digital Twin to enhance the accuracy of the model and facilitate analysis. Digital twins can be further enhanced by virtual reality and interactive visualizations to allow users to access, consume and control information in real time.
What are the benefits?
- Improve project planning and scheduling: by using a digital twin, designers can identify potential problems in the design phase before the physical work begins resulting in better allocation of resources and efficient planning of execution.
- Simulation can be used to check the integrity of a building before it is actually built allowing designers to identify any potential issues with the overall structure and amend them before construction begins. Also, during construction phase data from various data sources like concrete sensors, inform the project team about the current situation of the project.
- Enhance worksite safety: Real time data can be used to notify on-site workers about any potentially dangerous situations such as structural issues or gas leaks. This can reduce chances of accidents on the worksite as well as reduce costs from potential injuries or fatalities.
How to create Digital Twins?
- Identify the scope of the project: A modeller can create a digital representation of the existing building or infrastructure using BIM 3D models and any reality capture data like point clouds and images.
- Linking the 3D model to the real-world context: Once an initial model of the building has been created, the model needs to be linked to the 4D/5D BIM enabled data and other static data resources including specifications, drawings, and site logistics in order to accurately represent the real world.
- Configure sensors to collect data: Once the initial model is created with a 3D environment, various sensors need to be configured to monitor the conditions within the building. The IoT data collected from the sensors can then be used to generate dynamic data that is fed back into the 3D model to make adjustments to the virtual model of the facility in real-time as needed.
- Linking the data to legacy systems: In order to make use of the data collected by sensors and fed into the 3D model, this data needs to be linked to any systems already in place at different decision-making levels. This will allow the data collected to improve the decisions made by the stakeholders involved in the project.
What are the challenges?
- Lack of reliable data and models for current projects – Most current projects in the built environment do not have adequate data available to create a realistic model of an existing facility that can be compared with real-time information to update its parameters and generate necessary insights.
- Integrating with legacy systems – Since many of the existing buildings in operation today are not equipped with the necessary technology for data collection and integration, it can be challenging to integrate these new technologies with the existing infrastructure.
- Unlocking the Big Data potential – There are also limitations associated with the collection of large volumes of data in the construction process due to the expensive nature of the equipment and software required. Also, much of the data gathered is unstructured and needs to undergo significant analysis before it can be used by the project teams to make sound decisions. This limits the amount of data that can be utilized and makes the process cumbersome and time-consuming.
What is the future of digital twins?
The future of the digital twin lies in its ability to help transform the construction industry into one that is more data-driven and efficient. Advances in technology have allowed for the development of smart sensors, scanners, and robotics that allow for the construction of more reliable and accurate models that can be used for simulation and analysis purposes.
With emergence of new technologies not only the physical entities can be modelled but construction workers also can have digital twins. So all assets and people in the process will have virtual representations and their interactions can be captured in virtual environments, like the metaverse or augmented reality, and real world like on worksites.
(1) MarketsandMarkets, Digital Twin Market Global Forecast to 2027, 2022.