Covid-19 and the new normal for infrastructure systems – next steps

The DT Hub warmly welcomes the endorsement from the ICE ICG White Paper: Covid-19 and the new normal for infrastructure systems – next steps for the National Digital Twin programme. The paper sets out that “It is impossible to expect a transformation of the infrastructure and construction industries to occur without widespread and coherent adoption of digital technologies and data… The rise of digital technologies has led to the concept of the digital twin, a representation of a physical infrastructure asset in a digital format which can aid the modelling and understanding of that asset. The concept of a National Digital Twin – an ecosystem of digital twins connected via securely shared data – and an information management framework, which would enable effective information sharing, is an extension of this idea. The National Digital Twin sets out a structured approach to managing data about infrastructure within the infrastructure system as a whole and promotes the Gemini Principles to ensure this data is used for the public good.”

The paper makes the forward thinking recommendation that “Increased funding should be made available for the National Digital Twin Programme and the creation of digital twins should be mandated for all major projects and programmes.