The Case Study series

By Robyn Francis | Global Engagement Coordinator | Smart Cities Council

For a second year in a row Digital Twin Week offered up a detailed case study session, and in 2021 we were joined by government and industry leaders as they went deep into the why, what and how of their Digital Twin journey.

Our case studies included:

• Digital Twin Victoria - A deep dive into building the case for a Digital Twin and a demonstration of the Digital Twin Victoria platform

• Digital governance at scale in Regional Western Queensland

• The multi-year journey of Wellington City Council's Digital Twin - policy, use cases and planning for the future

• Building the ModelCity, from the City of Kelowna, BC, Canada

The session started looking at Land Use Victoria and the data shared on their open data channel. We walked through innovative landmark digital projects before addressing how the team at Digital Twin Victoria define a digital twin - which in summary is as a virtual lego kit used to plan and model digitally before investments hit the ground.

Looking at the growing global digital twin market as well as the opportunity for a more coordinated approach to digital spatial technology, Digital Twin Victoria was created. A 4 year initiative designed to unlock value for Victorians.

We walked through early learnings that the team are currently building on, before running through the design of the program from platforms to workspaces for use cases and the collaborative ecosystem that has emerged as part of the process and finally, an insightful walkthrough of the platform.

Crossing to Queensland, we looked at the very first steps of the digital twin process - getting ubiquitously good connectivity across a state to enable use of data.

Western Queensland Alliance of Councils, 22 local governments, have collaborated to drive the improvement of road, rail and air travel, to name just a few initiatives. Now connectivity sits at the top of the list of priorities. Connecting infrastructure (road, rail, air and digital infrastructure) are highly relevant, however there is no real governance and oversight on any level when it comes to digital infrastructure.

Whilst there has been a significant spent from Government on elements such as the National Broadband Network, the supply of digital technology was certainly accelerated by COVID demands and initiatives have incrementally bridged the gap, we need a refreshed and more strategic approach. So, what’s needed?

In Western Queensland, the aim of the Alliance is to provide access, reliability, speed and affordability for all services needed, comparative to those in metropolitan areas of Australia.

How it will be achieved:

• Unified governance across stakeholders

• Digital demand

• Digital supply

• Policy priorities

• Community engagement

• Investment

• Measurement

• Risk analysis.

We look forward to sharing news from the Alliance as they move to progress their core activity and create blueprints for implementation.

Over to Wellington City Council we looked at Sense, Analyse and Interact - the three sides to the Wellington Digital Twin approach - and how they cross over in various projects on the go in New Zealand. We then looked at the First and Second Horizons - the city’s response to the pandemic and beyond and how the digital twin project played a role in ‘flattening the curve’.

To showcase Analyse, we looked at the Forward Works Viewer which has already helped save an enormous amount of money and eased congestion through rerouting or rescheduling works. We also crossed across to development simulation being used to drive investment into new social housing and a few other exciting projects where the Interact component was outlined.

For more on how the City of Wellington’s digital twin project incorporates elements such as

• Government policy

• Partnerships

• Inter-city co-operation

• Strategic / purpose integration

• Engagement and more

Keep an eye on our news page.

Across to the City of Kelowna, Canada, we looked at a model city digital twin project created in response to a need to be able to answer questions about the city with confidence. City is a repository of data, much of which is disconnected. Connected data has since shown its power in being able to boost corporate delivery.

We looked at model examples and the types of information being stored for example buildings, which covered approximately 60 attributes, and how the official community plan (OCP) creation has shifted with the introduction of the digital twin.

We look forward to hearing how the use of City grows and develops over the coming years as the team partner with the Canadian federal government on encouraging energy retrofits and more.

A recording of this session will be made available on the Smart Cities Academy website on November 1 2021. Subscribers to the DT Hub will be notified when available.