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More Than One Twin: An Ecology of Model Applications in East London

Hudson-Smith, Andy; Signorelli, valerio; Dawkins, Oliver; Batty, Michael; (2023) More Than One Twin: An Ecology of Model Applications in East London. In: Wan, Li and Nochta, Timea and Tang, Junqing and Schooling, Jennifer, (eds.) Digital Twins for Smart Cities: Conceptualisation for Challenges and Practices. (pp. 69-85). ICE Publishing: London, UK. Green open access

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Abstract

There is considerable ambiguity about the term ‘digital twin’ which is used to portray a digital model of a real system where the twin and its system interact with one another. Such interaction enables the twin to contribute to the operation and performance of the real system while the real system provides processes that enable the twin to come closer to the system itself. In this way, a two-way dependence augments both and provides a framework for control, management and design that is better than keeping the model and system separate. The problem of digital twining is that were the twin to be an identical copy of the real system with digital replacing physical components, in the last analysis, it would be the same. Moreover in practice many different models, hence twins, exist, and the focus then becomes how twins are linked to one another, thus forming an ecology of digital model applications. We illustrate these ideas by describing three very different applications in East London using data from the Olympic Park area where there is a rich constellation of entertainment, recreational, and educational activities. We introduce a land-use transport model that predicts activities at different locations, a three-dimensional (3D) model using virtual realities which are augmented by adding mobile data associated with the objects’ functioning, sometimes moving in time, and a building complex in which we have planted a network of sensors enabling us to monitor its performance. These three examples are clearly different from one another but they are all based on the same physical area. We thus conclude by sketching ways in which these twins can be linked to one another and how the idea of the twin is linked to its users in the wider context.

Type: Book chapter
Title: More Than One Twin: An Ecology of Model Applications in East London
ISBN: 0727766007
ISBN-13: 978-0-7277-6425-6
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://bookstore.emerald.com/digital-twins-for-sm...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10201458
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