Interscale Content Hub – It’s a new technology, but digital twins real estate is already changing the property industry.
Yes, this digital twin (DT) technology makes it easier to monitor, simulate, and optimize buildings throughout their lifecycle.
By combining IoT devices and advanced analytics, digital twins help property managers, developers, and investors make smarter decisions, which helps them run their businesses more efficiently and cut costs.
No matter if you’re a property manager looking to make things more efficient, a developer aiming to cut down on risks, or an investor seeking better decision-making tools, this DTs technology offers a lot of benefits.
So, we need to break this down. Let’s get into the details.
Which Industry Uses Digital Twins?
We can’t say digital twin technology is just for the real estate industry. DTs making waves in several industries.
The fact that so many different industries are using digital twins shows how versatile they are and how they could change the game in many different areas.
In manufacturing, they’re used to make production processes more efficient and to predict when things might need fixing.
The aerospace and defense sectors use it for virtual prototyping and to make systems more reliable.
The healthcare industry uses digital twins for patient-specific simulations and treatment planning.
In real estate, digital twins are becoming increasingly common for property management, construction planning, and improving tenants’ experiences.
As a point of reference, you might want to read “Digital Twins for Asset Management: Make Your Asset Story Come Alive,” to see how DTs can be helpful in your specific operation.
How Digital Twins are Applied in Real Estate
When it comes to digital twins in real estate, the goal is to create detailed virtual models of buildings that integrate all kinds of data, including data from sensors, IoT devices, and geo-spatial data.
These models let you monitor and manage properties in real time, which makes building operations much more efficient and accurate.
In the Ernst & Young paper “Digital twin: the Age of Aquarius in construction and real estate,” Todd Lukesh, Eric Ottinger, Nipun Bajaj, Jordan Stein, Erica Crandon, Mark Gibson, and Akanksha Jain describe digital twins as a critical technological advancement that aligns with the fourth industrial revolution.
A digital twin in the built environment uses spatial data for the core framework, equipment and engineering data for understanding the system, and IoT sensors for capturing real-time data.
This means the building can adapt to suit people, rather than people having to adapt to the building’s limitations.
For example, facilities managers can use digital twins to test out and improve building performance, manage maintenance schedules, and make the building more energy efficient.
Architects and engineers use digital twins to create virtual models of buildings. This lets them see what the finished product will look like, spot any potential problems, and make improvements to the design before construction starts.
Plus, developers can use them to get a better idea of what a project will look like and plan it out more easily, which means they won’t need as many physical prototypes or manual processes.
Benefits of Digital Twins in Real Estate
Enhanced Project Visualization and Planning
Digital twins provide realistic, interactive 3D models of buildings that significantly aid in project visualization and planning.
As we know, the stakeholders need to thoroughly explore and understand a project before construction begins.
The goal is to reduce errors and ensure compliance with design and regulatory standards. This is where the DTs come into play from the very beginning.
For instance, digital twins can help architects determine the optimal location for a building’s orientation to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impact.
Improved Operational Efficiency
Digital twins can keep an eye on building systems in real time, which helps us predict when something might go wrong and avoid unexpected downtime. This saves us a lot of money and makes our operations more efficient.
As explained in the Ernst & Young paper, sensors in a building can automatically start predictive maintenance routines when equipment is working outside of the usual parameters.
This proactive maintenance approach stops problems from happening and makes building operations more efficient.
Risk Reduction in Development and Construction
Digital twins let us run really detailed simulations of construction processes, so we can spot and deal with potential problems early on.
Todd Lukes and his team show how digital twins can automate data collection and comparisons to cut down on human errors and bias in progress reporting.
By putting sensors and cameras in the right places around construction sites, project managers can get objective, real-time data on how the project is going, which helps avoid mistakes and delays.
Better Investment Decision-Making
By looking at how a building is performing and what it could be worth in the future, investors can work out the potential ROI and spot the best opportunities.
Todd Lukes and his colleagues say digital twins give you one central database and one single source of truth, which puts all your data together for more advanced analytics.
This helps spot areas for improvement and figure out the best way to invest in new and existing assets.
Challenges and Considerations
As Todd Lukesh and colleagues have pointed out, there are a lot of challenges to overcome. These include high initial setup costs, data management and integration complexities, cybersecurity risks, and the need for specialized skill sets.
The first big obstacle is the high initial setup costs associated with digital twin technology.
To get this cutting-edge system up and running, you’ll need to splash out on some top-notch sensors, IoT devices, and a rock-solid data management system.
The technology is pretty complex, so it’s not just a matter of money. You also need to be strategic about integrating these advanced tools into your existing infrastructure.
Another big hurdle is data management and integration. Digital twins need to be able to pull data from different sources to create a model that works well together.
Also, you need people who know what they’re doing to manage these systems and interpret the data accurately, which adds another layer of complexity to the implementation process.
We also need to be aware of the cybersecurity risks involved with digital twins.
As we know, digital twins collect and process a lot of sensitive data, which makes them a tempting target for cyber attacks.
As digital twins become more integrated into the operations of buildings and facilities, the potential impact of a cyber-attack increases. This is why it’s so important to have rigorous cybersecurity measures in place.
Last but not least, to make digital twins work, you need a team that can do more than just crunch numbers.
You need people who know the industry and have the technical know-how to make it all happen.
Building these skills within the company is key to managing and making the most of the digital twin.
This might mean investing in serious training and development work and potentially hiring new talent with the right skills.
Another hurdle is sustainability. You can read all the details in “The Digital Twins and Sustainability to Waste Warriors & Energy Wizards.”
With so many challenges, it’s hard to stay focused on what matters most for your business.
That’s why we at Interscale are here to help with custom BIM and digital twin management services.
As your support system, we’re always on top of your projects, making sure your data is always up to date and using predictive analytics to keep your projects on track and within budget.
K2LD Architects, one of our great clients, saw firsthand how our BIM management services changed the way they handled their big projects.
If you want to know more about how we can help with your BIM and digital twin needs, kindly check our Interscale BIM Management Support Services page.
We’d also love to discuss your project needs. Please don’t hesitate to contact us whenever it’s convenient for you.
We’d love to set up a meeting at a time that works for you. We’re here for you 24/7 to help you achieve project excellence.
In Closing
As technology keeps on developing, we can look forward to digital twins playing an even bigger part in shaping the future of real estate. They’ll help make things more efficient and sustainable.
So, are you ready? Using Interscale as your supporting system is definitely a good move.
At Interscale, we make sure you can keep up with the changes and adaptations in digital twins real estate. That way, you can tweak your business operations and goals as needed.
