Highlights
- Digital Twins are not just tools for city officials, having the potential to make urban decision-making more transparent and participatory.
- Imagine being able to see in detail how a proposed park or road closure will affect a neighbourhood before it happens.
- This kind of engagement can strengthen the relationship between citizens and local governments, leading to better, more widely supported outcomes.
Cities today are living, breathing ecosystems. They are shaped not by buildings and roads, but also by the movement of people, flows of energy, and patterns of social activity. Urban planners have always faced the challenge of anticipating how a single change, such as a new bus route or housing development, might ripple through this complex ecosystem. Until recently, most of that planning relied on historical data, expert judgement, and static maps. Now, a new technology is changing the game: Digital Twins.
Read more: Smart Cities Revolution: How Digital Twins Drive Powerful Urban Planning
While energy performance is a critical pillar, the integration of digital twins into smart city architecture brings multidimensional benefits. Smart cities depend on connectivity, interoperability, and real-time data flows between buildings, transport systems, utilities, and citizens. Digital twins act as the digital backbone enabling this cohesion.
Amidst growing climate risks and mounting energy demands, a new study proposes a transformative digital solution that could redefine the architecture of urban resilience. The research explores how digital twin technology, virtual replicas of physical environments, can be leveraged to enhance sustainability in urban infrastructure, especially by integrating zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) into smart city ecosystems.
Read more: Urban future rewired: Digital twins power shift to low-carbon, adaptive living
“We move toward a future where machines can act and adapt without waiting for human input,” the researchers explained.
A team of scientists claim they have developed a new AI-assisted digital twin model that can adapt and control the physical machines its paired to in real-time.
In a study published in the journal IEEE Access, the team explains that the new concept could alter the way smart cities operate in the future. It could allow smart autonomous systems to fully visualize entire infrastructures.
Read more: Meet the autonomous digital twins that will run smart cities and pilot drones
AI-based analytics form the most impactful pillar in the model, enabling digital twins to conduct pattern recognition, demand forecasting, and anomaly detection. Machine learning algorithms can analyze historical and real-time data to recommend planning interventions with greater precision and timeliness. The study acknowledges the growing concern about AI's opacity and the ethical implications of automated decision-making, calling for increased transparency and explainability.
Researchers have unveiled compelling evidence supporting the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital twin technology in enhancing city planning across Greece. Authored by Panagiotis Germanakos, Styliani Chousou, and Nikolaos G. Bourbakis, the study explores how real-time data integration, simulation fidelity, system maturity, and AI-based analytics collectively improve planning effectiveness in smart city ecosystems.
Read more: AI-driven digital twins transform urban planning in smart cities
Digital Twin technology creates a virtual representation of physical infrastructure, integrating real-time data from sensors, IoT devices, and geospatial systems to provide a comprehensive model of transportation networks. Originally developed for manufacturing and aerospace, DTs have now expanded into infrastructure management, allowing engineers to simulate traffic flow, predict structural degradation, and optimize maintenance strategies.
The rapid urbanization and increasing complexity of transportation infrastructure have created an urgent need for innovative solutions to manage and maintain these critical systems. Digital Twin (DT) technology is emerging as a revolutionary approach that integrates real-time data, simulation, and predictive analytics to enhance the planning, operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges, tunnels, and other transportation assets.
Read more: Digital Twins reshape urban transportation: A game-changer for smart cities