Digital Twins are often described as a digital replica of something physical. This incomplete description omits many of the fundamentals of fully functional Digital Twins. What distinguishes Digital Twins from any other digital models are the connections to the physical world. They should allow a two-way connection between the Digital Twins and what is being modeled. In other words, allow for data going from the physical to the digital and interventions going the other way.

 

Digital Twins can take the form of advanced spatially accurate digital representations of the real world with 3D and 4D (time) dimensions, becoming a globally powerful tool to improve our understanding of the physical environment and make better informed decisions.

 

Digital Twins can develop predictive capability through AI and machine learning and offer just-in-time analytics, products and services. They vastly improve the value of data through aggregation from multiple sources and shared access, leading to better information for decision-making and lower service life costs for many forms of infrastructure. Given the increasing importance and complexity of Digital Twins, sound governance and widely adopted standards are critical to their ongoing success. The drivers for Governance and agreed standards include:

 

• As the world moves from data to models, interoperability between models is the next major issue to solve

• With Digital Twins now a critical national capability and an economic growth opportunity for both advanced and developing nations, with so many different parties contributing to and using the Digital Twins resource, well established governance goes hand in hand with standards along with funding responsibilities

• Digital and data tools and practices are key to unlocking substantial productivity gains and efficiencies across infrastructure planning, delivery and operations.

• Innovation supported by new technologies and digital transformation requires collaborative leadership between government and industry

 

The Aus/NZ-hosted part of the conference will bring together some of the world’s leading digital governance experts and international thought leaders to delve into world’s best practice on Digital Twins governance and the standards required to enable successful collaboration between all stakeholders. Join us to both learn and contribute to these important discussions being held by some of the world’s leading practitioners.