Track: Undergraduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a real dynamic system that can simulate its current conditions, predict its future behavior, and log valuable information about its internal operation and interactions with other systems. A key feature is the capability of automatic bidirectional information flow between virtual and physical worlds. The objective of this work is to create a Living Lab for the demonstration of interacting urban Digital Twins under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of sustainable cities and communities, health and wellbeing, and industry, innovation, and infrastructure. By using a network of sensing devices mounted on a vehicle, the proposed system is capable of processing real-life data through edge computing, modeling software and Machine Learning algorithms. With the processed information, a 3D virtual representation of urban spaces and the vehicle itself, the interactions between both subjects and the evolution of each is enabled. This approach of Digital Twin technology for urban spaces has significant value when it comes to analyzing a community’s evolution, mobility, a vehicle’s dynamic behavior, and its interaction with urban infrastructure. This work presents the proposed methodology for developing Digital Twin concepts for urban spaces and vehicles as well as their respective characteristic components.