Digital Twins – a Virtual Representation

One of the fastest-growing smart building technologies today is the creation of a virtual representation of buildings, equipment, and systems using a technology called digital twins. Virtual replicas of a building are being used in the building construction process and for building operations, maintenance, and management of day-to-day processes.

In this chapter, we will learn about smart building digital twins and digital representation and how the information required to build the digital twin begins with the data collected, monitored, and managed by the IoT devices. Digital twins provide the dynamics of how the internet of things devices operate throughout their life cycle.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics:

• Defining smart building digital twins and providing a brief history, along with many building application examples
• Explaining the different types of digital twins in a smart...

Smart building digital twin defined

As buildings continue to implement IoT projects, so too are they implementing digital twin solutions in large numbers. If they are not currently implementing digital twins, they are in the process of planning to establish a digital virtualization strategy. Quite simply, a digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical building, its systems, assets, people, devices, places, and processes. It is a contextual model not just of the physical environment but also of the entire organization, operations, and processes.

Digital twins are used to monitor energy consumption, waste management, air quality, fluid leaks, HVAC, and more. They provide a deeper understanding of occupancy patterns and provide a virtual experience of the space before expensive capital improvements are made. For businesses where it is critical to deliver a consistent customer experience across all locations, digital twins provide a schematic of how to deploy devices, systems, and...

Monetization opportunities

While cost optimization is a primary driver for the use of digital twins, value-added services and operational efficiencies are key to monetization. Let’s take a more detailed look at some digital twin use examples in the building operations and management area:

• Monitoring: Dynamic or intelligent condition monitoring is not new; however, the existing solutions are inefficient, produce inaccurate data, and do not deliver data fast enough for a quick response during fast-changing events. That’s because these systems typically use historical and static data that lags behind the current data and does not represent the current state.

Digital twin models work with data that is being collected in real time from sensors, detectors, fixtures, and other systems located in a building. Because the digital twin is constantly fed real-time information, it can mirror exact conditions on site and respond with immediate actions, such as when a...

Types of digital twins

Different types of digital twins exist for predictive maintenance, based on the detailed level of analysis that is required:

• Component twins/parts twins: Component twins are the smallest basic unit of the digital twin or the smallest operating component. Parts twins are similar and reference less important components.
• Asset twins: An asset consists of two or more components working together. An asset twin studies these components’ interactions and turns the performance data into actionable insights.
• System or unit twins: System twins pull different assets together to create a fully functioning system. From here, the interaction between assets can be reviewed and performance engagements recommended.
• Process twins: Moving up yet another level to the macro level, process twins review how systems work together. These systems should be synchronized to be effective or tweaks may be required to deliver precise timing.

While the biggest...

Layers and components

The smart building digital twin can be categorized into four layers:

Figure 8.2 – Digital twin information layers

The digital twin comprises data collected from all aspects of a building. To simplify the visualization of data, digital twin information layers represent the different categories. On the operation technology side, the physical asset layer collects data from the numerous different types of equipment, machines, and tools in the building and their connected infrastructure. All the building’s systems, such as HVAC, security, fire, and access, comprise the building systems layer.

On the information technology side, a building’s financial, operations, and business support systems, such as email and databases, are represented in the enterprise layer. People tracking, location, health, and well-being form the people layer. Together, these disparate systems deliver information that is typically presented...

Creating a digital twin

A guiding principle to remember is that a digital twin is not just a replicated computer model of a building and its system; it is an extension of the environment used to manage the integrated building. With that in mind, let’s look at how to create a digital twin:

• Purpose and scope: Start by understanding the intended purpose, such as whether will it drive navigation, perform predictive maintenance, and/or report a real-time inventory. From that, a design and scope can be developed. Questions should be addressed, such as what building functions will be monitored, whether remote access is required, and who will operate it.
• Components: Information-gathering IoT devices and sensors vary greatly in capability, technology, accuracy, and communication range, so all of these will need to be considered when selecting these components. The physical infrastructure must be considered as well. Software to drive the digital twin and visualization needs...

Digital twins helping public safety teams

One issue facing first responders today is the lack of accurate and timely information about a building they are about to enter and the emergency they are responding to. Knowing exactly where they and others are located is critical to safety. Smart building digital twin technology is helping them to respond faster, with more information to achieve significant outcomes, including saving lives.

Smart building systems can send a first responder accurate information, such as where the fire is in the building, how big the flames are, and information about chemicals that may be stored close to the fire. Information from motion sensors, heat sensors, video cameras, biochemical sensors, and other smart IoT devices can be delivered directly to first responders while traveling to the building and during their time in the building.

Other benefits and uses of smart building digital twin technologies include the following:

• Training: Digital...

Smart hospitals using digital twin technology

Subsystems data is combined with real-time interactions between connected devices, people, and processes to deliver the smart hospital digital twin. Intelligent operations, improved situational awareness, real-time information analytics, and orchestration deliver better outcomes for patients and staff.

Today, hospitals are using digital twins to address issues such as the following:

• Long wait times
• Transcription and translation errors
• The downtime of medical facilities and devices
• Interdisciplinary communications and coordination
• Budget and staffing issues to reduce burnout
• Detecting workflow problems before they occur
• Optimizing processes to improve patient outcomes
• Gaining greater clarity into past, present, and future overall performance

Digital twins allow a hospital to analyze the entire picture in real time. They can examine the end-to-end hospital environment and workflows. They can facilitate...

Lowe’s stores introducing digital twin technology

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a North American home improvement box store and is one of the first retailers to introduce interactive digital twin technology, to combine spatial data with product location and historical order information. Using augmented reality headsets, employees can locate items in the store that may be obscured, optimize restocking strategies by seeing how shelves would look, and suggest changes to store plans. Product arrangement and displays can be viewed and modified before they are implemented in the real store environment. A 3D product catalog is currently under development.

Lowe’s digital twin applications include the following:

• Restocking support: Lowe’s associates can wear an AR headset to view a digital twin hologram overlaid atop the physical store layout. Associates can compare what the shelf should look like versus what it actually looks like.
• X-ray vision...

Digital twin smart building challenges

While digital twin and 3D technology do exist, smart building adoption will continue to face challenges, and many building owners see it as daunting and out of reach. Other challenges include the following:

• Expensive: Adopting digital twin use for smart buildings is very expensive. Owners and operators with large portfolios can spread that cost across their portfolio, while smaller companies can choose to pick smaller low-hanging fruit projects and stagger implementations.
• Lack of standards: There is a lack of real-time, open, and quality data formats, due in part to the lack of industry standards.

RealEstateCore is a Swedish consortium of building owners, software firms, and research institutions that developed an open source ontology, using Microsoft Azure Digital Twins and its Digital Twins Definition Language (DTDL). An ontology is a shared data model (or set of models) and the best practice for a domain such as an IoT system...

Summary

This chapter demonstrated how digital twins are the lifeblood of smart buildings by unlocking the benefits of IoT and smart building applications. They create long-term value by solving big problems. They are used to improve efficiencies, detect problems, optimize processes, and innovate for the future. Smart building digital twins will also benefit smart cities and urban planners, allowing them to predict what might happen if a building is constructed in a certain manner.

In the next chapter, we’ll begin to explore methodologies for pulling together your smart building project by looking at how to define the project requirements.