India is set to join the league of cities and countries, including Singapore, Yingtan in China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Auckland, Helinski, Boston, Colarado and Orlando, in harnessing the power of digital twins to enhance efficiency, coordination and governance. With Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, already in the process of being built as a digital twin, Mumbai-based Genesys International and CE Infosystems (MapmyIndia) are leading the charge in creating 3D digital twins for India’s top cities.
A digital twin is a 3D virtual representation of an object or system that provides real-time insights into its performance, operation or profitability. When applied to cities, digital twins offer invaluable support to policymakers in improving urban governance and the overall urban ecosystem by enabling better infrastructure planning at reduced costs.
Creating a 3D digital twin of a city is an ambitious task. Genesys International collaborates with Google Street View to capture street imagery, aiming to collect approximately 1 million km of images from towns and cities by the end of the year. The process involves building a high-definition engineering-grade map that encompasses every inch of the city within a Geographic Information System (GIS) system. To achieve this, aerial data, obliques (building sides), and street imagery are collected to create an immersive 360-degree experience of each part of the city. Genesys utilises survey aeroplanes, Lidar sensors, mobile imaging systems, street imaging vans, backpacks, drones and other tools to capture the required data.
These 3D digital twins offer numerous applications with five-centimetre level accuracy, including climate-smart cities, green infrastructure, improved healthcare, environmental sustainability, smart education and smart agriculture. For instance, the installation of mobile networks on specific rooftops can be simulated, identifying any obstructions within specified parameters, leading to time and cost savings. Additionally, entire solar infrastructure designs can be created using digital twins.
