Digital Twin

A digital twin is a digital representation of a real building. It consists of three layers: the georeferenced capture, the structured BIM model and the data added during operation.

The difference from a 3D model lies in currency and structure. A 3D model is a deliverable. A digital twin is maintained, queryable and usable for decades. After a refit the affected zone is updated instead of recapturing the whole building.

In operation the twin lives in the browser. Facility management, construction and external consultants work from the same basis. Issues are located in the model, areas and asset inventory are queryable without anyone measuring on site.

The term is never used on its own. It is always a digital twin for a building, for operation or for a portfolio, and the context belongs with it.