May was a particularly encouraging month for all of us on the National Digital Twin programme, as we received continued Government support and with it, a clear validation of the progress we have made. At a time when the government is facing multiple challenges and demands on finances, it is heartening that they have recognised the value of the programme.
It has enabled us to fine-tune our planning and I’m excited to highlight three key projects we’ll be focusing on this year.
1. Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo)
The National Digital Twin Climate Resilience Demonstrator, or CReDo, is a very exciting project for the NDTp this year. The purpose of CReDo is to provide a tangible working example of the National Digital Twin – a ‘thin slice’ of the envisaged ecosystem of connected digital twins. It is intended to demonstrate meaningful secure, resilient information sharing across organisational and sectoral boundaries in the domain of climate resilience for the water, energy and telecoms sectors.
CReDo will integrate data between energy, water and telecoms networks to improve climate resilience decision-making across infrastructure systems. It will look specifically at the impact of extreme weather, in particular flooding, on energy, water and telecoms networks and how those who own and operate them can plan to mitigate the effect of flooding on network performance and service delivery to customers. CReDo will be one of the first climate change adaptation cross-organisational systems which show how greater access to the right information can help to manage the impact of climate change.
CReDo will be delivered by a collaboration between leading asset owners, domain experts and UK research centres, funded by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Connected Places Catapult and the University of Cambridge.
CReDo is also a unique learning opportunity and we are as excited by what we will learn from the implementation of CReDo. We are already learning from setting up the data sharing arrangements and security controls for cross organisational data sharing. We intend to provide regular updates and learnings here on the DT Hub and on the Gemini Call.
2. Information Management Framework (IMF)
We will continue to develop the IMF, the foundation that enable the National Digital Twin – an ecosystem of connected digital twins. A key focus for the IMF team will be working closely on the CReDo project, to test the IMF approach for cross-organisational and sectoral data sharing and to learn from the implementation of CReDo to inform the development of the IMF.
The NDTp technical team presented last year’s outputs and the plans for the current year at an event in collaboration with the Newton Gateway to Mathematics: 4-Dimensionalism in Large Scale Data Sharing and Integration (recordings and slides included).
3. Digital Twin Hub
We will continue developing the DT Hub as the knowledge centre of the NTDp and the go-to place to find information on connected digital twins. We will also continue to grow the community and start to involve sectors beyond the built environment for example with the advanced manufacturing community. They are making transformational leaps forward in their use of digital twins and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to the community.
In addition to the three key projects, we have additional support from the University of Cambridge to support additional activities which we will share more on in the coming months.
So, there is plenty to keep us busy! There’s also a real sense of momentum as we move forward and grow, and an appreciation for the multiple entities supporting the NDTp. I think CReDo offers us a unique opportunity and I’m really looking forward to working with the new partners we will be collaborating with. As ever, we will keep you updated and are grateful for any feedback.
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