“The great thing about the digital twin approach is that we can test multiple scenarios between the physical world and its virtual replica to make improvements, whether that’s in terms of technical performance, the costs incurred, or environmental impact.” Professor John Ahmet Erkoyuncu, Cranfield University
What are digital twins?
Digital twins are digital replicas of the physical world. They are created using data collected from the physical world in real time.
This can include data from traffic cameras, sensors in vehicles, roads or tracks, and real-time positioning data from satellites.
The digital twin rapidly analyses the real-world data to test and improve different scenarios. The digital twin then sends back its solution for an improved process to the physical world. This exchange happens almost instantly – in close to real time.
A practical example might be a digital twin automatically updating digital road signs with information on the shortest route out of a traffic jam, based on real-time traffic data in that location.
This ability to implement efficiency and performance enhancements almost instantly, through the two-way exchange of data between the physical and digital worlds, makes digital twinning an incredibly powerful technology across multiple sectors.
The National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP) is a UK government-led programme to grow national capability in digital twinning technologies and develop related standards, frameworks and tools.
Its definition of a Digital Twin describes a digital representation of a physical-world entity, environment or process that includes a two-way data flow into and out of the physical world.
Digital twins are also able to predict what the associated physical-world entity would do, given a stimulus. And they provide a ‘level of prediction confidence’, including after integration with other digital twins.
Read the full digital twin definition here on the NDTP website.
The power of system-wide digital twinning
Digital twins are already being used to monitor, manage, predict and improve different aspects of transport, including traffic flows, vehicle maintenance and energy use.
But digital twins that span whole systems are still in the early stages of being developed.
TransiT sits at this juncture, where our research will demonstrate the transformative power of digital twinning to connect up and optimise the vast, complex and highly fragmented world of transport.
This means developing and integrating digital twins that don’t just analyse individual sectors, but also the connections between them – for example, the movement of freight and passengers between roads, rail, air and shipping.
Our digital twin ‘system of systems’ also needs to model human behaviour, vehicles, infrastructure and travel choices – and the unpredictability of how people and goods move around.
To do this, we use a technology called agent-based modelling. This is a computer simulation technique that models how individual agents – people or things – interact with each other and their environment.
The need for speed
With global temperatures rapidly rising, we have run out of time to carry out real-world transport trials and learn from them. So, if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction commitments, we have to do our experiments digitally.
Digital twinning allows different transport configurations to be tested and developed much faster than real-world engineering projects, until the lowest cost pathway to net-zero carbon emissions is identified.
This minimises risk and cost for transport providers and investors. For example, logistics companies can use data from digital twinning to help them plan how to sustainably move freight in the future. This could include identifying the most sustainable routes, vehicle types, journey times, business models and collaborations.
Government policymakers can also use digital twinning to understand the impact of their policy decisions across a range of future scenarios.
Digital twinning can also help transport users, including passengers and commuters, make decisions about the most sustainable travel choices on a local, regional and national level.