US Army photo
The Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand is driving the digital twin conversation in Australia and will host a Digital Twin Symposium as part of Smart Cities Week on 1 November 2019.
The Smart Cities Council ANZ executive director, Adam Beck, says digital twins are at the heart of the smart city, but it is IoT that provides the pulse.
“For the first time in history, we have a powerful tool at our fingertips that can help us ask ‘what if?’ and model the answer. That tool is the digital twin,” Beck says.
“Digital twins — 3D virtual replicas of physical assets — are being deployed in everything from aerospace and engineering, to manufacturing and motor racing. In fact, tech analyst Gartner says three quarters of organisations are either already using digital twins or planning to do so within a year.
“But rapid advances in IoT, cloud and drone technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning have converged, delivering a powerful new tool that enables us to visualise an entire city in real time.”
Beck says bringing the virtual and physical worlds together can help cities make better decisions and deliver better services, reduce risks and cut costs, and engage citizens.
“Just as car companies are cashing in on the consumer data they collect, digital twins can help cities extract and value data. The digital twin has the potential to direct investment in sustainable assets and citizen services with razor-sharp precision – accelerating the liveability, workability and sustainability of our cities.”
However, even though momentum is grown there is also a lot of misinformation and missed opportunities, Beck says.
“Creating a city-scale digital twin is a massive undertaking and demands an ecosystem of partners prepared to think bold and think big.”
Smart Cities Week Australia will run from 30 October to 1 November 2019 at the Sydney Hilton. The National Digital Twin Symposium will take place on 1 November and will bring together the nation’s digital twin leaders from government, academia and industry to guide the direction of Australia’s digital twin agenda. It will be part sharing and exchange and part road mapping and will cover all things policy and practice.
