Digital Twins

Digital Twins of buildings, assets and technical installations can yield a significant benefit not only for the daily operations but also for planning und documentation purposes. Having all the necessary information accessible in one place leads to optimize processes, quicker decision making and a reduction in time and money spent.

It is vital that all the data and information contained in the digital twin are up-to-date and correct, otherwise the twin will not yield the potential benefits. An outdated digital twin is simply a waste of money. In many cases, existing 3D- or BIM-models are used as the basis for a later digital twin. This approach is a good start but not enough. This is due to the fact the for most assets, there are simply no 3D models available that you could rely on. And if there is a model, often there is no data contained in it. In addition, the ongoing changes due to maintenance, modifications or reconstruction are usually not updated in the model.

We have therefore decided to take a different approach and rely on the groundbreaking technologies developed by our partner Framence GmbH. They have developed a method that turns simple 360° images and fotos into photorealistic digital twins that can represent the entire life cycle of an asset. By positioning the panoramas and photos in a 3D coordinate system, measures can be taken, information located and 3D points defined to represent points of interest. Thereby a virtual 3D-model is created without having to undergo the hassle of all the modelling. In case BIM models are readily available, they can of course be integrated into FRAMENCE, linked to the photos and any data contained may be extracted.  The FRAMENCE method of using photos and combining them with intelligent IT and AI allows for reducing the costs of creating a digital twin by around 90 %. Thereby the vital need for continuous model updates is economically feasible for the first time.

We have adopted the FRAMENCE technology and have integrated these photorealistic digital twin into our speedikon® C environment. This allows for any information already contained in speedikon® C to be located in the twin. Data stored in third party systems such as ERP, building management or sensor clouds may also be located and displayed on demand by using API and interfaces; the data itself can remain in the original system.

The digital twin does not need to store all the data itself – it simply needs to know where it can find the data.

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