The technology of digital twins has been around for a long time, and is already used by many industries. Nordic BIM Group's Christian Foss gives a forecast of what will happen to digital twins in the construction and real estate industry in 2022.
As more concrete examples of the technology come into use, the hype will subside. The key is to clearly demonstrate the added value of digital twins and how they add smart digital functions to a property. 2022 is expected to be the year when digital twins of buildings go from not only "talk the talk" to actually "walk the walk".
The built environment is responsible for almost 40 % of the world's CO2 emissions. This makes the industry by far the biggest polluter. Because of its size, the effect of even small reductions becomes significant. The industry's need to reduce emissions deserves attention and requires solutions. Technology will be the most important factor in achieving climate goals.
Property owners will begin to understand how digital twins can change their day-to-day operations. Digital twins challenge processes and routines that the industry has followed for decades. Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics will significantly streamline operations thanks to large amounts of data.
The information accumulated in the digital twin of a building can make a building autonomous/self-governing. The building will notify of necessary maintenance before something gets defective. The building's smart system will be able to create maintenance tasks itself so that these are carried out as planned and efficiently. Data on how the building is used will lay the foundation for optimizing energy use and both provide environmental benefits and reduce costs.
As digital twin technology is maturing, the public sector will see its value and potential for its large real estate portfolio.
In Norway, the state-owned real estate company Statsbygg is very determined to take advantage of the technology. They and other public actors have the opportunity to be pioneers in the use of digital twins. This could lead to leaps in the digitalization of existing buildings (for example through the use of slimBIM).
The construction and real estate industry will continue its digital maturation and the understanding of the enormous potential of digital twins will become clearer. There are already real-life examples of actors who have used the technology and see the value it creates.
We are looking forward to being a positive contributor to how the industry can achieve increased profitability and sustainability by adopting digital twins in 2022.