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    Together, we made the inaugural Connected Digital Twins Summit a huge success. 

    The Summit convened over 900 attendees including senior-level policymakers, corporate asset owners, solution providers, academics, and investors. From the Ministerial Address by Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP (Minister of State for Transport, UK) through to the stellar line-up of keynotes, SME showcases and immersive case studies demonstrating the power and ROI of digital twins in different contexts – we had it all!
    A date for your diary - Thursday 20 June 2024 - we look forward to seeing you next year!
    In figures
    900+ community attendees 67 industry speakers 27 event partners 8 new case studies exploring wider industry applications of digital twins 6 new online learning modules launched to help build understanding and capability 4 live/immersive demonstrations from solution providers in the ecosystem 3 streams of content Ministerial Address by Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP (Minister of State for Transport, UK) to announce a Transport Vision and Roadmap to 2035 enabling a trusted ecosystem of connected digital twins for multi-modal UK transport networks.  Watch out for our full collection of videos and other media from the event - coming very soon.
    Catapult_Digital_Twin_Summit_dhzkua.mp4
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    Optimising traffic flows, providing live updates on EV chargers, and reducing infrastructure maintenance are just three ways in which digital twins are revolutionising transport. Transport Minister Jesse Norman, today unveiled a Vision and Roadmap to align efforts and supercharge this revolution.
    22.06.23, LONDON, In his keynote speech at the inaugural Connected Digital Twins Summit, hosted by Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport and place leadership, and the Digital Twin Hub, the UK’s Transport Technology and Decarbonisation Minister launched the TRIB Transport Digital Twin Vision and Roadmap to 2035. The Vision and Roadmap were developed by the Catapult for the Department for Transport’s Transport Research and Innovation Board (TRIB).
    The Roadmap sets out a series of activities to 2035 that key stakeholders within the transport ecosystem need to undertake. The roadmap details the steps required to deliver the vision for connected digital twins across four key areas: strategy and innovation; enabling environment; people, skills and culture; and technology and data. It will be a tool for engagement and alignment around common strategic priorities.
    The Roadmap’s accompanying Vision aims to:
    “Enable a trusted ecosystem of connected digital twins for multi-modal UK transport networks. This will facilitate effective decision making to optimise solutions and deliver efficient, safe, and environmentally conscious mobility for people and goods.”
    Federated networks of digital twins can play a key role in supporting the UK transport sector to realise the government’s ambitious targets for achieving net zero, improving the user experience and growing the digital economy throughout the country. Networks of Digital Twins can increase resilience, improve safety, accelerate innovation and improve collaboration with the transport sector. The potential value of technologies like digital twins, AI and robotics increases as they start to converge to form a cyber-physical infrastructure where new products and services can be developed which can lead to the seamless connection of autonomous vehicles and transport.
    Research from McKinsey Digital, published last year, shows that 70% of C-suite technology executives at large enterprises are already exploring and investing in digital twins, with market research firm Markets and Markets estimating digital twin investments of more than $48 billion by 2026.
    As part of the Vision and Roadmap, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology sponsored six innovative SMEs to develop use cases, illustrating the ways in which digital twin technology can provide value to the transport sector, including:
    Slingshot Simulations, which has developed a digital twin called Compass Engine to predict the impact of introducing changes to the highway network in urban areas, such as closing certain roads to reduce emissions Digilab is building a digital twin called twinAir which monitors air pollution from road traffic in real time. The company has created what it calls a ‘physics informed surrogate’ for the city of Exeter that collects air quality data from the roadside. It then scales this information to provide a more accurate picture of traffic related pollution right across the city. OpenSpace is helping railway station operators harness digital twins to put passengers at the heart of decision-making. Its digital twin solution fuses real-time passenger detection, virtual spaces, analytics and visualisation to provide intelligence to help boost the customer experience, increase revenues and reduce costs. In his keynote speech, Minister Norman also announced the winners of the UKRI competition to select a Research Leader for Digital Twins to Decarbonise Transport. These include Professors Philip Greening of Heriot-Watt University and David Flynn of the University of Glasgow with their TransiT project, who will now work with stakeholders to the create a proposal for a national research hub that, if successful, will be supported by a UKRI investment of up to £20m over five years.
    Transport Technology and Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman said:
    "The UK is a global leader in transport technology partnering with industry.
    “The Vision and Roadmap for Digital Twins shows how the Department for Transport is supporting innovative digital twin technologies for a cleaner, greener and more efficient transport system.”
    Paul Wilson, Chief Business Officer at Connected Places Catapult and member of the Transport Research and Innovation Board, said:
    “Connected digital twins are well placed to deliver significant economic, social and environmental impact and drive the UK as a science and technology superpower.
    “This roadmap shows how we can go from pockets of excellence with this technology, to wider implementation across our towns and cities. Only then will we be able to realise this technology’s potential to deliver greener, multi-modal transport at scale.”
     
    To view the TRIB roadmap and vision, you can use the following link: Transport Research and Innovation Board - Vision and Roadmap and 2035
     
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    We’re delighted to announce that Decarbonisation and Technology Minister, The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP will launch the Transport Research and Innovation Board’s online Vision and Roadmap to 2035 at the Connected Digital Twins Summit on Thursday 22 June 2023. The Minister’s attendance will underline the government’s priority to back advanced technologies that can deliver decarbonisation and improve services. 
    The Connected Digital Twins Summit brings together policy makers, asset owners, solution providers, academics and investors to exchange perspectives on the value of connected digital twins. They will hear about the latest outputs and tools for collaboration across industries; explore digital twin applications across sectors; share views on barriers to connecting digital twins; learn how to assess ROI and empower business decisions and network with the digital twin community. 
    Register to watch the Minister’s launch and take part in the event online: https://lnkd.in/eYvYsTaD 
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    We're delighted to welcome Justin Anderson as he begins his role as Director of the Digital Twin Hub at Connected Places Catapult.
    Justin is dedicated to fulfilling the DT Hub's mission by aligning and amplifying the #digitaltwin ecosystem and accelerating adoption of innovative solutions to address system-level challenges.
    Prior to his role at the DT Hub, Justin served as the Global Head of Technology, Centre of Excellence at KPMG International, where he was responsible for assessing the impact of technology on various industries, supporting the company's #digitaltransformation programme, and providing training on #emergingtechnologies to a global team of 80,000 consultants.
    His passion for technology and its intersection with policy, business, and society is evident in his establishment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, which serves as the authoritative voice within UK Parliament on all matters related to #AI.
    Justin has played a key role in developing BSI PAS 212, a standard for #datainteroperability that has been widely adopted in #SmartCity programmes worldwide. He also serves as a member of the BSI Innovation Committee, contributing his expertise to further advancements in #technology and #innovation.
    Justin says 'I am delighted to assume and announce stewardship of the Digital Twin Hub; an inclusive, diverse, international ecosystem addressing knotty and societal-level challenges.'
    We're looking forward to learning more about his vision. Look out for an update, coming very soon.
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    The Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) project has been awarded close to £1m to investigate the effects of extreme heat on water infrastructure and offer solutions.
    Connected Places Catapult and partners involved in the Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) programme are among the winners of a Water Breakthrough Challenge announced today by the water regulator Ofwat.
    The project – designed to show the benefits of using connected digital twins to improve infrastructure resilience – has been awarded £913,000 and is one of 16 solutions sharing a fund worth £40 million.
    Ofwat’s innovation competition aims to find solutions with the potential to deliver transformational change at scale around challenges such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage.
    CReDo will work alongside the water industry to help build resilience into infrastructure assets, focusing in particular on addressing the impact of extreme heat on water networks.
    Connected Places Catapult’s Ecosystem Director for Integrated Infrastructure, Chris Jones says: “This crucial funding will help infrastructure providers to better understand how extreme heat affects their assets, so that timely investments can be made to improve resilience.”
    Partners in the Water Breakthrough Challenge award include Anglian Water, CMCL Innovations, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (part of UKRI), UK Power Networks, United Utilities Group, Affinity Water Limited and a number of universities.
    “One aim of CReDo is for water and associated infrastructure to become more resilient to a changing climate,” Chris adds. “Our models help to find where the weak points are, and identify how they affect interdependent infrastructure, such as power networks.”
    Ofwat Chief Executive David Black said: “The water sector has faced mounting pressure over systemic challenges related to the environment and society, while the climate around us continues to drastically change shape. That’s why we’re funding ground-breaking innovations with potential to help us save and reuse water and wastewater products, while supporting wider society.”
    Find out more about CReDo.
     
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    The Gemini Call is a vital part of the Digital Twin Hub, and we are excited to have concluded our 2023 Spring season, 10/1/23-28/3/23. With the support of the DT Hub Community, we were able to achieve some impressive milestones:
    425 people joined the Gemini Call with 61% of viewers attending multiple calls Viewers from 24 different countries We averaged 121 viewers per call, with over 1250 live views We had presentations from 22 companies, featured in the attached image. We have viewers from 31 different sectors with our largest sectors being: Technology Sector Education Sector Tied for 3rd: Renewable Energy Sector, Electricity Sector, Construction Sector Engineering Sector Tied for 5th: Water Sector, Buildings Sector The Digital Twin Hub operational team is constantly trying to improve the Gemini Call, so if you have any feedbacks or ways you believe we can improve the Gemini Call, please reach out to myself at john.holden@cp.catapult.org.uk.
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    Join us at our Connected Digital Twins Summit
    Thursday 22 June 2023, 09:00-17:30
    Why do we need to connect digital twins and what impact will this make?  
    Welcome to our Connected Digital Twins Summit – a unique opportunity for the digital twin community to showcase significant advances in connected digital twins both in and across different industry sectors.  
    We are delighted to announce that at 09:45am, Decarbonisation and Technology Minister, The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP will launch the Transport Research and Innovation Board's online Vision and Roadmap to 2035. The Minister's attendance will underline the government's priority to back advanced technologies that can deliver decarbonisation and improve services.
    We'll be streaming the event from Connected Places Catapult’s Urban Innovation Centre in London and featuring VIP keynotes, panel discussions, the Gemini Call live, interactive working groups, demo's and showcase of digital twin innovation from the Digital Twin Hub community.
    The Connected Digital Twins Summit is bringing together policy makers, asset owners, solution providers, academics and investors to:
    Explore digital twin technologies across multiple sectors Learn about the latest outputs and tools to enable collaboration across industries Share views on overcoming barriers to connecting digital twins Discover how to assess ROI and empower business decisions Network with community members to spark ideas and business opportunities. The event will also introduce the DfT Transport and Innovation Board Programme and present a showcase of SME-led use cases for digital twins.
     
    PROGRAMME
    Stream 1
    MAIN STAGE: How can connected digital twins address industry challenges? 
    Chaired by Henry Fenby-Taylor, Athenophilia

    Explore how businesses are taking advantage of the numerous benefits offered by digital twins, and how can connecting virtual systems of physical assets inform better decision-making, creating impact for business and society. 
    09:25 - 09:30 Housekeeping and introduction to in-person delegates (Henry Fenby-Taylor, Athenophilia and DT Hub Community Council)
    09:30 - 09:45 Welcome to everyone (Dr Alison Vincent, Chair, DT Hub Board and Justin Anderson, Director, DT Hub)
    09:45– 10:00 Launch of the Transport Research and Innovation Board online Vision and Roadmap to 2035 (The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP
    10:00 – 10:25 Keynote: Why Connect Digital Twins? (Alison Vincent, Chair, DT Hub Strategic Board) 
    10:30 – 11:00 Networking and Exhibition
    11:00 – 11:20 Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Challenges for Industry: Landscape review (Simon Hart, Head of Digital Twins and Cyberphysical Infrastructure, Innovate UK) 
    11:25 – 11:55 Panel: Breaking Through the Digital Divide: Conquering barriers and unleashing the power of connected twins (Chaired by Justin Anderson, Director of the Digital Twin Hub, Connected Places Catapult) with David Wagg, The Alan Turing Institute, Miranda Sharp, ODI/Metis Digital, Keith Dear, Fujitsu, Gemma Beard IOTICS and Kjell Eriksson, DNV)
    12:00 – 12:25 Panel: Digital Twin Financing: The future of investment and the key to unlocking unprecedented asset value (Chaired by Mark Coates, Int. Director of Public Policy, Bentley Systems) with Steve Turner, Cities Commission for Climate Investment, Janet Greenwood, Infrastructure Advisory Group and Kjell Eriksson, DNV) 
    12:30 – 13:30 Lunch, Networking and Exhibition
    13:30 – 15:00 Gemini Call Live (Hosted by Simon Evans, Global Digital Energy Leader, Arup), featuring DNV, CACI, OnePlan, IOTICS, Decision Lab, 1Spatial, Fujitsu and Advanced Infastructure)
    15:05 – 15:30 Virtual Energy System - Decarbonising the energy sector with connected digital twins (Caroline Tortora, Head of Innovation and Digital Strategy, National Grid and Simon Evans, Global Digital Energy Leader, Arup and DT Hub Strategy Board)
    15:30 – 16:00 Break 
    16:00 – 16:20 Climate Resilience Demonstrator (Sarah Hayes, Engagement Lead, CReDo) 
    16:20 – 16:40 Space, time and digital twins (Charles Kennelly, Chief Technology Officer, ESRI UK)
    16:40 – 17:00 Fireside chat: Harnessing BIM to realise digital twins with Robert Bray, VP Global Marketing, Autodesk and Adam Matthews, Head of Strategy and Engagement, Digital Construction International)
    17:00 – 17:10 Final Words (Alison Vincent, Chair, DT Hub and Justin Anderson, Director of Digital Twins, Connected Places Catapult) 
     
    Stream 2
    SUPPORTING STAGE: How is the UK championing innovation in connected digital twins? 
    Chaired by Chris Jones, Connected Places Catapult and Jonathan Eyre, High Value Manufacturing Catapult

    Digital twin research and development and the journey towards a cyber-physical infrastructure. This session features key projects and programmes across the Catapult Network, UK Government, and UK research councils, to stimulate systems-level innovation nationally.
    11:00 – 11:55 Transport Research and Innovation Board Programme: Overview and SME use case presentations (Wolfgang Schuster, Executive Director, Innovation and Yalena Coleman, Director of Applied Data and Technology, Connected Places Catapult. With OpenSpace, Evotrack, Slingshot Simulations) 
    12:00 – 12:25 Digital Operations and Maintenance Environment (DOME) for Offshore Wind (Ben George, General Manager, Humber, Offshore and Renewable Energy Catapult)  
    12:30 – 13:25 Lunch, Networking and Exhibition 
    13:30 – 14:05 High Value Manufacturing Catapult (Jonathan Eyre, Senior Technical Fellow for Digital Twins, Connected Places Catapult)
    14:10 – 14:40 Energy Systems Catapult (Richard Dobson, Practice Manager, Data Systems, Energy Systems Catapult)
    14:45 – 15:20 Unlocking the insight and value of a dynamic digital twin for the Fawley IMIC (Emma Hitchman, Head of Commercial Pursuits, Satellite Applications Catapult, David Bradley, Senior Associate Director of Asset Management Advisory and Peter Matthews-Dixon, Associate Director and Information Management Lead, Jacobs)   
    15:30 – 16:00 Networking and Exhibition
    16:00 – 16:55 Interoperability Workshop (Justin Buck, Senior Marine Data Manager, British Oceanographic Data Centre with Anasol Pena-Rios, Research and Networks Strategy, BT Group, Sindu Manickam, Senior IIoT Technologist, Digital Catapult, Ben Ford, Technology and Innovation Manager-Operations, Network Rail and James Byrne, Research and Software Engineer, British Antarctic Survey)
    Igloo immersive space experience (in-person only) See digital twins and connected systems in action using latest interactive technology, with TEKTowr, Royal HaskoningDHV, OnePlan and KPMG
     
    Stream 3
    AUDITORIUM: How our community is coming together to enable connected digital twins 
    Interactive Training/Working Group Sessions  
    Chaired by John Holden, Digital Twin Hub
    Understand key issues, open standards and more through hands-on working groups with members from the Digital Twin Hub Strategic Board and Advisory Group. These sessions focus on specific areas of interest as identified by the Digital Twin Hub community.  
    11:00 – 11:25 Stimulating Innovation in Digital Twins through R&D Funding (Mark Gasgarth, Head of Digital Security and Resilience, EPSRC and DT Hub Advisory Group)   
    11:30 – 11:55 DT Hub Working Group: Governance Model and Trust (Anne-Marie Friel, Partner, Pinsent Masons, Sarah Cameron, Legal Director Pinsent Masons LLP, Joseph Otoo, Senior Legal Counsel and Associate Director, ARUP, Angela Baker, Data Assurance Programme Lead, ODI)   
    12:00 – 12:25 DT Hub Working Group: Open Standards and Interoperability (Ben Ford, Technology and Innovation Manager - Operations, Network Rail, Charles Kennelly, CTO, Esri UK, Mark Enzer, Vice Chair, Digital Twin Hub) 
    12:30 – 13:30 Lunch   
    13:30 – 14:05 DT Hub Working Group: Business Case and Demonstrating Value (Liz St Louis, Assistant Director of Smart Cities, Sunderland City Council, Davin Crowley Sweet, Chief Data Officer, Network Rail) 
    14:10 – 14:45 DT Hub Working Group: Digital Skills and Building Capability (Mark Coates, International Director of Public Policy, Bentley Systems and Matt Edwards, Chief Data Officer, Anglian Water Services)   
    14:50 – 15:25 Gemini Alliance: Shaping the future of digital innovation (Justin Anderson, Director, Digital Twin Hub, John Erkoyuncu, Professor of Digital Engineering and Head of CDEM, Cranfield University, Melissa Zanocco OBE, Infrastructure Client Group and Co-Chair, DT Hub Community Council and Stuart Pearson, ODI. 
    16:00 – 16:55 Interactive Training Session: Realising the potential of digital twins (David Tarrant, Academic Lead, Open Data Institute, Matt Edwards, Chief Data Officer, Anglian Water)
    Learn more
    Register to attend online via Airmeet 
     

     
     
    Commercial Partnerships brochure 
     
    Connected Digital Twins Summit_Commercial Partnerships Brochure (5).pdf
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    Announcement
    The government has published its response to the Cyber-Physical Infrastructure consultation, which explored the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing interconnection of the cyber-physical systems, such as robotics and digital twins.  
    The response sets out how the UK could lead in the development of Cyber-Physical Infrastructure through its strength in cyber-physical systems and the leading role of innovators in the private sector, industry and academia, who will ultimately build CPI.
    As part of this, the government is launching a £200,000 grant funding competition for an organisation or consortium to build a Cyber-Physical Infrastructure ecosystem capability to help advance the agenda and stimulate a diverse UK ecosystem. For more information and how to apply, see here.
    Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Consultation response
    The 2022 Cyber-Physical Infrastructure consultation response been published. It shows a strong endorsement for the Cyber-Physical Infrastructure agenda set out and outlines how the UK can lead in convergence of cyber-physical systems.
    Read it on the DT Hub.
    Read the UKRI blog on How we created cyber-physical infrastructure to catalyse innovation by Simon Hart, Head of Cyber-Physical and Digital Twins, Innovate UK 
     
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    The Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) team and project partners have launched a new film to show how a novel approach to cross-sector datasharing in a connected digital twin is key to safeguarding critical infrastructure as we tackle the effects of climate change.
    CReDo is combining datasets from Anglian Water, BT and UK Power Networks into one system model to develop a cross-sector picture of impact of extreme weather events. It uses a distributed architecture to share data and insights across sectoral and organisational boundaries, demonstrating how we can safely collaborate on a national network of connected digital twins to create resilient infrastructure.
    The UK’s critical national infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather and other effects of climate change, such as sea level rises. Major power outages, landslides onto roads, buckling train lines and flooding of infrastructure sites: these are all realistic scenarios, and can lead to cascading risks affecting other sectors. Different infrastructure sectors are highly interdependent, so the shutdown of one operator may cause knock-on effects for multiple sectors.
    “Asset owners really need to know who they are dependent on – it’s crucial both for the integrity of assets but also for the service you give your customers. Understanding the risks in advance and how we can mitigate them is key.” Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge
    The new film features Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge and Chair of the Adaptation Committee, along with David Riley, Head of Carbon Neutrality at Anglian Water, Paul O’Brien, Director of AI, Cybersecurity and Operations at BT and Barry Hatton, Director, Asset Management at UK Power Networks.
    It shows how infrastructure owners can share information in a safe and secure way, allowing visibility of those aspects that help everyone to understand dependencies and make better decisions.
    CReDo has been designed so that it can be extensible to other asset owners, new sectors, wider geographic regions and a range of extreme weather events. The wider benefit is that it improves overall resilience. Barry Hatton, UK Power Networks
    The film,  produced by Econ Films London, premiered at the CReDo showcase event on Tuesday 7 March 2023.
     
     
    About CReDo
    The CReDo project launched in November 2021 to create a proof-of-concept connected digital twin using shared data. The scenario was a severe storm causing surface water flooding across the energy, water and telecoms networks in a specific area. The CReDo digital twin looked at interdependencies across the infrastructure system and modelled when assets failed due to high water levels. It propagated knock-on failures through the combined system. The impact on primary and secondary assets and the cascade of resulting failures were captured in an interactive visualisation.
    Phase two of the work is maturing the system into a working prototype that is scalable and extensible to new asset owners, larger geographical areas and new climate scenarios. It is using a distributed data architecture to maximise the data retained under an individual asset owner’s private systems and security. This opens the door for future collaboration with other digital and data initiatives, the co-development of standards and solutions and ultimately, connected intelligence through an interoperable digital ecosystem.
     
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    22 June 2023, 09:00-17:30 – hybrid event
    Urban Innovation Centre, 1 Sekforde Street, London EC1R 0BE
    UK and international Digital Twin Hub community members will convene to explore the latest cross-industry, business applications of digital twins that are creating impact and ROI.
    Join 350+ senior-level policymakers, corporate asset owners, solution providers, academics, and investors to experience live demonstrations and interactive showcases, and gain access to new tools to enable business decisions.
    Read our event brochure
    Partnership opportunities
    Please see our Connected Digital Twin Summit Commercial Partnership brochure below:
    Connected Digital Twins Summit_Commercial Partnerships Brochure.pdf
     
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    The DT Hub is at this year's Futurebuild exhibition at the ExCel, London - come and find us on the Digital Stage!
    13:30-14:15, Thursday 9 March 2023
    Closing the gap between design and reality
    Our exciting panel topic Digital twins... fake news for net zero features DT Hub Strategic Board members Melissa Zanocco, Mark Enzer and Simon Evans in lively discussion with Henry Fenby-Taylor about the practicalities of turning design ideas into reality, and the future impact of digital twins in the race to net zero.
    The DT Hub is proud to present the best of the best when it comes to digital twins. This panel of industry experts will cover what we all want to know - whether digital twins are the answer and the significance of connected digital twins, community focused systems solutions, the circular economy and more.
    We're also delighted to announce that 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗽𝘂𝗹𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗵 will be the host of the 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 on the day.
    Find out more about our speakers and attend the session.
     
    Look out too for Digital Twin Hub representatives at Futurebuild
    Bola Abisogun, DT Hub Advisory Group, speaking on 7/3 at 10:30-11:15
    Emilia Cardamone, DT Hub Advisory Group, speaking on 7/3 at 16:30-17:15
    Dan Rossiter, DT Hub Community Council, speaking on 8/3 at 16:30-17:15
    Sarah Hayes, CReDo speaking on 8/3 at 14:30
     
    About Futurebuild
    Better future for the built environment. As the industry’s premier event, Futurebuild provides the stage for inspiring ideas, innovative solutions and knowledge sharing to drive sustainable construction and help us reach our goal of net zero. The exhibition brings together the entire supply chain to showcase, debate and understand the advancements in sustainable construction and the emerging technologies that will make net zero possible. Futurebuild is about driving positive change. Click here to learn more about Futurebuild.
    Sign up here!
    The DT Hub is a Futurebuild partner for 2023.

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    Showcasing the Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo)
    The Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) team recently welcomed the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy report Readiness for storms ahead? Critical national infrastructure in an age of climate change where the project was noted for its work looking at the impact of flooding on energy, water and telecoms networks. CReDo is combining datasets from Anglian Water, BT and UK Power Networks into one ‘system model’ to develop a cross-sector picture of extreme weather events on the infrastructure system. In bringing together data and insights across sectorial and organisational boundaries, the project shows how we can collaborate on a national network of connected digital twins to create resilient infrastructure. After a successful first phase, the CReDo team can't wait to take you through the latest activities and achievements.
    Don't miss the CReDo Phase 2 webinar!
    We would be delighted if you could join us online for the CReDo webinar Showcasing the Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) – Increasing climate resilience through cross-sector data sharing in a connected digital twin on Tuesday 7 March 2023 from 10:00-12:00.
    This event runs in place of the usual Digital Twin Hub Gemini Call. 
     Digital twins and data sharing initiatives can face many challenges. We will be looking at: 
    How to break down data siloes for cross-sector data sharing and bring the data together in a way that is scalable and extensible to other organisations, sectors and regions  How to unlock the strategic use case for planning and investment in climate resilient infrastructure.  We'll also be running a live demo of the latest version of CReDo and showing clips of the new film. The CReDo team will be ready to answer your questions. 
    NEW  Event programme
    𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘀, Arup and DT Hub Strategic Board
    𝘊𝘙𝘦𝘋𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝟤 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺: 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗲𝘀 and 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻, CReDo (Connected Places Catapult)
    𝘊𝘙𝘦𝘋𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗦𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻, Frontier Economics; 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘂, CReDo (Connected Places Catapult)
    𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝗝𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗱, CMCL Innovations
    𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘘&𝘈: moderated by 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘀, with 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, Milestone Infrastructure; 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗼𝗻, Northumbrian Water; 𝗝𝗶𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹, National Infrastructure Commission; 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘆𝗻𝗲, Anglian Water; 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗯, UK Power Networks; 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗞𝗿𝘂𝗴, BT/Openreach; 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗸𝗶 𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗷𝗸, Mott MacDonald
    𝘊𝘙𝘦𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴: 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, Connected Places Catapult
    𝘊𝘙𝘦𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘘&𝘈: moderated by 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘀, with 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘂 and 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻, CReDo (Connected Places Catapult); plus 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗦𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻, Frontier Economics; 𝗝𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗱, CMCL Innovations; 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, Connected Places Catapult
    𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴: 𝗬𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻, Connected Places Catapult

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    Everything you need to know about the DT Hub and its community in an easy download.
    New for the DT Hub in 2023 is our overview brochure, highlighting our work as a community to date, our priorities and objectives, key projects and initiatives, and the impact we make collaboratively.
    We hope you will use the brochure to share our vision with colleagues and industry contacts.
    “Digital twins and connected digital twins will equip us against global systemic challenges including pandemics, climate change and resilience. They make investment sense for societies, industries and governments as we move towards the vision of a cyber physical future, and their impact on our economies will be huge. The need for connected digital twins to meet the challenges of this changing world has never been greater and the Digital Twin Hub is leading the way."
    Dr Alison Vincent, Chair, Digital Twin Hub
    Download your copy
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    A new knowledge transfer partnership will see Hadean access specialist support from the Catapult via a dedicated knowledge transfer associate.  
    Award winning metaverse startup Hadean, and Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, have been awarded a UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant to create a new offering in the transportation sector. 
    The two-year long project will aim to develop a traffic simulation digital twin that can scale to a large number of entities (cars, standard HGVs, eHGVs, charging points, electric overhead cables), replicate motorways and highways in the UK and study the optimal locations for e-Highways. 
    Using historical data and Hadean’s cloud computing platform, the 3D environment will also help assess how e-Highways affect the flow of traffic and how infrastructure needs to be built to support them. 
    This will enable a greater alignment between Hadean’s computing technology and the modelling capability and permit extensive and complex road networks to be modelled, stress-tested, and subjected to "what-if?" analyses. Challenges around scale of simulation, spatial computation, complexity and extent of exploration will be addressed using technologies Hadean has developed for connecting and scaling virtual worlds for metaverse, gaming, and defence. 
    Connected Places Catapult will provide technical support and guidance to Hadean via a specialist knowledge transfer associate, who will act as a liaison between the Catapult’s experts and the product team at Hadean. Specifically, the Catapult will advise on transport modelling and digital twin applications, supporting Hadean to develop mathematical and agent-based simulation models for road transportation. The Catapult team will also help Hadean overcome challenges around the acquisition and use of relevant data in the development of digital twins. 
    The grant demonstrates a growing interest in the public and private transportation sectors for scalable, agent-based models that can boost the development of modern, eco-friendly transportation. 
    “We are excited to be collaborating with Hadean to bring Connected Places Catapult’s knowledge base to bear to support their digital twin challenge. The Catapult’s unique expertise, boosted by the transfer of the Centre for Digital Twin Hub (previously hosted by University of Cambridge) to the Catapult in April 2021, is uniquely positioned to support Hadean in creating create a new offering in the transportation sector, a wholly owned e-Highways simulation digital twin.” 
    Alexander Weedon, Executive Director of SME Development and Academic Engagement at Connected Places Catapult 
     “Although e-Highways are being tested in California, Germany and the UK, domain-specific expertise of how, where and under what conditions these can be deployed is currently limited. We are excited to take our first step in the transportation industry, alongside our Knowledge Transfer Partners at the Catapult, to leverage the near-unlimited computational capacity of the cloud and develop a cutting-edge decision support tool to help consultancies and government agencies plan the highways of the future. We also believe that such capabilities will have important synergies with creating a category of metaverse worlds which may require the simulating and understanding of real-world and simulated scenario-based traffic patterns and behaviours, as well as exploring hypotheticals and “what-if?” questions around infrastructure design.” 
    Chris Arthurs, VP of Innovation, Hadean 
    "Connected Places Catapult is delighted to be working with Hadean Supercomputing on this exciting project. Real world testing is extraordinarily expensive and the opportunity to work with Hadean to develop digital twins which can model e-highways in a virtual world at a fraction of the cost is both valuable and a real learning opportunity for both organisations." 
    Alisdair Ritchie, Head of the SME Development Team, Connected Places Catapult
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    Friday 27 January, 15:30-16:00 GMT
    The Digital Twin Hub and Connected Places Catapult is presenting a 30-minute virtual panel discussion into the intricacies and the financial challenges and opportunities that accompany digital twins creation and implementation. The panel will be hosted by digital twin enthusiast Henry Fenby-Taylor, joined by DT Hub Strategic Board members Mark Coates, of Bentley Systems, and Paul Lam, of TuSimple.
    Speakers:
    Host – Henry Fenby-Taylor, Creator of Digital Twin Fan Club podcast Mark Coates, International Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at Bentley Systems Paul Lam, Director, Corporate Development & Strategy at Tu Simple REGISTER HERE
     
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    Five-minute survey 
    Connected Places Catapult is conducting a survey to better understand the priorities of different organisations in relation to the creation of ecosystems of connected digital twins across the transport sector. Focusing on the current receptiveness towards capacity to federate, we are seeking to understand the areas to be addressed and the actions required to enable federation.
    We are looking for individuals from the transport sector (or working with systems influenced by this sector, for example, energy) who are currently working on digital twins, shadows, models.
    This survey takes 5 minutes to complete and input will be kept anonymised. Closing date: 24 January 2023.
    Complete the survey
    Background
    The Transport Research and Innovation Board (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/transport-research-and-innovation-board) has identified that there is a need for research and development funding to enable the UK to develop digital twinning capability for transport. Digital twins have potential to revolutionise the real-time monitoring of systems, simulation, optimisation and accurate forecasting and could play a key role in transitioning to net zero, improving user experience, increasing resiliency, furthering safety, and accelerating innovation. 

    This questionnaire looks to capture input from the community to understand the priorities for different organisations regarding ecosystems of connected digital twins (for example a federated network of digital twins).  The questions have been informed by stakeholder interviews conducted in December 2022. 

    The survey will help inform the future vision and roadmap for ecosystems of connected digital twins in transport.
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    Funding opportunity to develop use cases to solve the UK’s transport challenges using digital twins. Use cases should be for the benefit of users/passengers - the environment, or the economy to revolutionise the UK's transport system.
     🔔 Applications close on Friday 30 December at 23:59pm 🔔 

    We are looking for innovative SMEs to identify transport system challenges and propose solutions using ‘digital shadows’ and/or ‘digital twins’ for enhanced decision making. These use cases will feed into and support the development of a vision and roadmap for digital twins.  
    Use cases should aim to improve transport for the user, reduce environmental impacts of transport, or support levelling up of the UK economy. 
    Up to ten SMEs will each be granted up to £6,000 to develop digital twin use cases that help to solve UK transport decarbonisation challenges. 
    Responses should describe the potential impact of proposed use case ideas. 
    Definitions of digital shadows and digital twins (figure 5) alongside further Information about digital Innovation can be found in the BEIS document: Enabling a national Cyber-Physical Infrastructure to catalyse innovation: consultation. 
    Who is it for?
    SMEs with a UK registered office, interested in exploring the use of digital twins to address UK transport decarbonisation challenges and to contribute to shaping the future of connected digital twins in the UK transport system. 
    What are the challenge areas?
    Use cases should be focused around at least one of the following three themes: 
    Improving transport for the user  Reducing the environmental impact of transport and moving towards decarbonisation  Levelling up the UK economy  Use cases should also apply to one or more of the following transport modes: 
    Aviation  Maritime  Rail  Road Why Apply?
    Receive funding to further develop a transport digital twin use case  Engage with the UK’s Transport Research and Innovation Board (TRIB) to refine the transport use cases  Contribute to and inform the vision and roadmap for connected digital twins in the transport sector  Opportunities to raise awareness of proposed solutions  How will the competition work?
    Applications will be received by Friday 30 December at 23:59pm. 
    Successful applications at the first stage will be interviewed on either the 18, 19 or 20 January 2023. 
    Successful projects will then be issued an offer letter before the end of January for projects to begin in February 2023. 
    SMEs will be funded up to £6000 during February 2023 to develop their transport digital twin use case with input from challenge owners, who will support the writeup of the use cases. 
    Challenge owners will be brought into the project once the scope of the responses have been confirmed. 
    Eligibility 
    Open to Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) with a UK registered office. An SME is any organisation that has fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total less than €43 million. 
    Key Dates 
    Competition opens – 9 December 
    Competition deadline – 30 December (23:59) 
    Final funding decisions –  24 January  
    Interviews – 18, 19, and 20 January 2023 
    Offer letters issued – End of January 2023 
    Projects start – Beginning of February 2023 
    Project complete – End of March 2023 
    Get in contact
    For any queries please get in touch by emailing at: innovation_funding@cp.catapult.org.uk
    How to apply?
    Complete the application form to apply for this opportunity. You can also download the Application Guidance and FAQ document to help with your application.
    To apply via the Connected Places Catapult website, click here. 
     
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    The climate emergency is here now, and collaboration through connected digital twins is key to tackling climate change. 
    The recently published JCNSS report points to work underway on digital twins to model climate-related infrastructure interdependencies. As an example it gives the government funded Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) project which is looking at the impact of flooding on energy, water and telecoms networks.
    CReDo is combining datasets from Anglian Water, BT and UK Power Networks into one “system model” to develop a “cross-sector picture of impact of extreme weather events on the infrastructure system”. Using data and insights across sectoral and organisational boundaries, we can collaborate on a national network of connected digital twins to create a resilient infrastructure.
    Chair of the Joint Committee, Dame Margaret Beckett MP, said:   
    “Storm Arwen showed how quickly the effects of a power shutdown can impact on other sectors. People were left without any access to their landline phones after the storms, and unable even to call emergency services in areas with a poor mobile signal. These cascading crises are a major danger to the functioning of the UK economy, and to society – that is why this is a serious risk to national security."
    The UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) is vulnerable to extreme weather and other effects of climate change, such as sea level rises. Major power outages, landslides onto roads, buckling train lines and flooding of infrastructure sites: these are all realistic scenarios, and can lead to ‘cascading’ risks affecting other CNI sectors. Different infrastructure sectors are highly interdependent, so the shutdown of one CNI operator may cause knock-on effects on multiple other sectors. 
    We need to ready ourselves and adapt to the climate emergency, and although we can’t stop it as we would want to, we can use technology and specifically connected digital twins to mitigate the impact of such natural disasters.  
    Read the JCNSS report and find out why the CreDo project is so important. 
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    The Gemini Papers set the vision for the future, showing the vital role that connected digital twins play in improving social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
    The Gemini Papers: Summary Paper contains insight from Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Andy Neely, Alexandra Bolton and Mark Enzer and tells you everything you need to know and what must happen next, in three parts:

    • What are connected digital twins?
    • Why connected digital twins?
    • How to enable an ecosystem of connected digital twins?

    The Summary Paper highlights the team responsible for the Gemini Papers and lists the key documents that helped in informing their creation.
    Read all the Gemini Papers here.
     
     
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    The Global BIM Network primary event, the General Assembly, takes place online on 1 December 2022.
    The Global BIM Network will bring together members of the global public sector at its Annual General Assembly, to foster a more productive and collaborative global digital construction sector that delivers benefits for people and places.

    During the event we will be providing attendees with a preview of the Network’s forthcoming Digital Transformation Playbook for Public Sector Construction. The session will answer the following questions:

    ◼️ Who is the Digital Transformation Playbook for?
    ◼️ What states of digital transformation does it address?
    ◼️ What questions about digital transformation does it answer?
    ◼️ How can it be used to improve public sector capacity for digital transformation?
     
    You will also hear about the Network’s progress to date, as well as hearing presentations from the Network who will be providing case studies on the digital transformation in their home countries.
    Public sector
    The Annual General Assembly is for public sector representatives interested in the digital transformation of public sector construction, including from national and sub-national levels, policy, change program staff and infrastructure owners and procurers. 
    Register for the General Assembly here
     
    About us
    The Global BIM Network brings together members of the global public sector, non-governmental organisations and multi-lateral institutions, to foster a more productive and collaborative global digital construction sector that delivers benefits for people and places. The network is free to join and will provide access to knowledge and the opportunity to exchange information with peers from across globe.
     
    Global BIM Network General Assembly 2022 Flyer.pdf
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    ISO/IEC 30173 is open for public comment. https://lnkd.in/eeRbjWFv
    Digital Twin is not a new idea. Twinning has been used in aerospace for over 50 years, but widespread advances in digitalization have enabled the concept to spread and now many more sectors are new and potential adopters.
    The purpose of this standard is to provide: a common basis for understanding the concept and composition of a digital twin; an overview of its life cycle in relation to the entity it represents; and a basis for the development of other standards on digital twin.
    Click here to review and comment by - deadline extended to 18 November 2022.
    https://lnkd.in/eeRbjWFv
     
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    We are pleased to announce that Computational Modelling Cambridge Ltd (CMCL) will be the development partner for the team of collaborators developing the Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) – a connected digital twin demonstrator across the critical infrastructure network to build climate resilience. CMCL will use semantic knowledge graph technology to help build core functionality to support cross-sector data sharing, system-wide impact modelling and decision support.
    Dr Amit Bhave, CEO at CMCL, said:
    “Given the growing interest and attention towards data sharing and connected digital twins, we are thrilled to be selected for this highly competitive opportunity to contribute to the next phase of CReDo. The programme is strongly aligned with CMCL’s strategic priority of enabling cross-sector interoperability.”
    The CReDo team is also pleased to continue its work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), through the Hartree Centre and the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI), who will provide the project with crucial data and cyber security expertise and provide secure hosting for the system. We hope to confirm the complete team soon.
    The contracts signify the start of a new six-month work programme for CReDo and infrastructure collaborators Anglian Water, UK Power Networks and BT, in combining data and insights across sectoral and organisational boundaries – to improve coordination of operational and investment decisions, mitigate the effect of flooding on network performance, and ensure reliable service delivery to customers.
    CReDo looks specifically at the impact of flooding caused by climate change on energy, water and telecoms networks, but its longer-term aim is to capture new sectors to realise an integrated infrastructure innovation ecosystem that delivers an even greater level of resilience.
    Professor Kate Royse, Director, STFC Hartree Centre said:
     “Trying to predict and mitigate the effects of climate change when you can only see a small part of the bigger picture is almost impossible therefore connected data is the key to building climate resilience. We’re excited to be continuing our collaboration with the network of CReDo partners by providing our data science expertise to explore how to work across sectors and systems to address climate change challenges.”
    STFC Scientific Computing’s Dr Brian Matthews, who leads DAFNI, said:
     “I am delighted to continue to work with the innovative CReDo partnership.  Using the secure collaboration space that DAFNI provides, the CReDo partners can work together and share data safely, and so explore the impact of floods on our vital utility networks. This digital twin will help partners to provide rapid responses to emergencies and inform planning decisions, and so it will enhance the resilience of our society as we face the challenges of extreme weather as a result of climate change.”
    The first phase of CReDo was funded by a collaboration between UKRI, Connected Places Catapult and the Centre for Digital Built Britain. Connected Places Catapult has taken over as lead organisation for this next stage of development.
    Learn more about CReDo
     
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    UPDATE FROM THE LIVE LAUNCH
    Watch the recording of the event at the IET
    To establish the Apollo Protocol Forum, a series of themed live sessions or hacks will take place across the UK.
    Value Hack, 17 November, Sheffield Performance Hack, 12 December, Coventry Circularity Hack, 19 January, Birmingham Human Capital Hack, 9 February, London More details to follow - join the Apollo Protocol Network to stay in touch.
     
    The team behind the Apollo Protocol white paper, which calls for a common language across digital twins, will reveal details of how it will begin to set up the Apollo Forum at a live streamed launch on 25 October 2022.
    Since its launch last month, the Apollo Protocol has attracted critical acclaim and enthusiasm from the digital twin community in manufacturing, construction and the built environment, and the technology sector. Downloads of the white paper proposing the cross-sector approach to digital twins have exceeded expectations, and a Network for participants has been set up on the Digital Twin Hub.
    At the live launch, the team behind the initiative will give details of how the Apollo Forum will begin its work. Currently, the manufacturing and built environment sectors are developing digital twins separately using different language and business models, yet many of our challenges, such as net zero and economic sustainability, require sectors to work together.
    The white paper, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and supported by a wide range of leading organisations, sets out a proposal to unlock the benefits of digital twins between the built environment and manufacturing sectors. It argues for the establishment of the Apollo Forum to explore four key themes:
    1. A single value chain for information and data services and requirements
    2. Circular supply chains between the sectors
    3. Optimised performance through technology enabled information sharing, and
    4. Managed human capital and resources between the sectors.
    The Forum will be established by practical cross-sector events where manufacturers and asset owners can articulate their data needs or technology offerings to map out the beginnings of a unified value chain, exploring solutions and unblocking practical barriers. The work will be supported through Innovate UK to develop the UK’s capability in Cyber Physical Infrastructure. 
    Neil Thompson, Digital Manufacturing and Performance Lead at the Construction Leadership Council and IET Built Environment Panel Chair explained, “The data needs of manufacturers and asset owners across our sectors are hampered by a lack of collaboration and language barriers. The Apollo Forum events will enable us to map out those needs, identify technical and other support and ultimately develop valuable cross-sector solutions for the participants. Along the way we will begin to identify how to write the Apollo Protocol, but we will achieve it by taking practical steps to solving real life problems.”
    Asset owners, manufacturers and others interested in overcoming barriers to cross-sector collaboration are invited to learn more about how they can take part in a series of Apollo Forum events by joining the live stream at 3.30pm on Tuesday 25 October 2022. Watch the recording of this event
    Download the white paper.
    The Apollo Protocol represents the combined efforts of the IET, The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB), The Construction Innovation Hub, the Digital Twin Hub, techUK and The Alan Turing Institute. The project has the support of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK.
     
     

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    Leading institutions working with digital twins in the manufacturing, tech and built environment sectors have published a paper arguing for a common strategic language and direction and setting out how this could be achieved. 
    Download the paper here 
    Access the slide deck
    Join The Apollo Protocol Network on the DT Hub
    The manufacturing and built environment sectors are developing digital twins separately using different language and business models, yet many of our challenges, such as net zero, are common and require us to work together. The Apollo Protocol will create a common framework for developing digital twins so that each sector can unlock their potential and deliver on strategic goals and wider government initiatives. 
    One of the principal initiatives being developed across industry and supported by government is digital twins1. In simple terms, a digital twin is a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart of a physical object or process. Digital twins offer benefits in a wide range of applications, and as a result, many industries are developing standards and definitions. 
    The paper argues for the creation of the Apollo Forum to explore four key themes which the manufacturing and built environment sectors share, developing solutions and encouraging cross-sector learning. The forum will then produce the Apollo Protocol, a framework to enable communication across sectors for people working on digital twins.  
    The forum will operate under collaborative principles, working with other initiatives under vendor-neutral governance and openness. Learnings from the forum will be available for use in any cross-sector initiative. 

    The focus of the paper is:
    connecting the manufacturing and built environment sectors, although is applicable between any two sectors (rather than generally promoting digital twins) on practical application not theory – creating a space where practical learning can be done between digital twin users and enthusiasts of different sectors, and practical solutions can be developed open collaborative working and publishing the paper describes how DTs are developing and suggestions to work together to fulfil wider policy objectives eg decarbonisation requires upstream value chain. It argues for the creation of the Apollo Forum to explore four key themes which the manufacturing and built environment sectors share, developing solutions and encouraging cross-sector learning. 
    A unified cross sector approach to digital twins will enable the manufacturing and built environment sectors to learn from each other’s experience and work towards:  
    A single value chain for information and data services and requirements, enabling a new paradigm for policy makers responsible across the lifecycle of product life cycles   Circular supply chains through the alignment of standards and processes, turning the built environment sector's waste and latent material into a resource for the manufacturing sector through effective, integrated digitisation Optimised performance throughout the product lifecycle, enabled through robust and interoperable data with technology enabled information sharing Managed human capital between the sectors to ensure resources are optimally utilised and have the right learning and reskilling environments for achieving the above themes.    The paper, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, is a collaboration between and was authored by representatives from: 
    Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Built Environment Panel   Construction Leadership Council (CLC)   University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)   Digital Twin Hub (supported by the Connected Places Catapult)   Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB)  High Value Manufacturing Catapult   techUK, the digital technology trade association  The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence   IBM Consulting  Atkins Global (facilitation)  Just Practising Limited (project management)  In addition, the paper has been endorsed by:  
    ·       Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). 
     
    [1] Recent documents outlining the progression in each of the three sectors:
    The Gemini Principles, Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain, 2018 https://www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/news/2018GeminiPrinciples
    Digital twins for the built environment, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2019
    https://www.theiet.org/impact-society/sectors/built-environment/built-environment-news/2019-news/digital-twins-for-the-built-environment/
    Our vision for the built environment, Construction Innovation Hub, 2021
    https://constructioninnovationhub.org.uk/news/vision-for-the-built-environment/
    Untangling the requirements of a digital twin, HVMC/AMRC, 2021
    https://www.amrc.co.uk/pages/digital-twin-report
    Unlocking value across the UK’s digital twin ecosystem, techUK, 2021
    https://www.techuk.org/resource/techuk-launches-landmark-report-on-the-future-of-the-uk-s-digital-twin-ecosystem.html
     
    Download the paper here
    The Apollo Protocol was one of the topics at the Gemini Call on Tuesday 20 September 2022. Become a member of the DT Hub and join the Gemini Call Network to access the slide deck.
     
    Join The Apollo Protocol Network on the DT Hub

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