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I came across an EU funded project "xr4all" which provides a development environment(among other things) for XR projects. The details are here: https://dev.xr4all.eu Will it be possible for the NDT programme to provide similar platform for DT community in the UK? It will help in fostering rapid collaboration and development of the DT ecosystem. Thanks and kind regards, Ajeeth

During Tuesday’s Gemini call, the above was raised to help promote awareness of the CDBB Digital Twin programme with developers and the alike. This struck me as a pretty good idea.. So based on the Gemini Principles and my understanding of the IMF pathways document, the below is a draft suggestion for the pot, to provoke the thoughts and ideas of the community: The IMF is rooted in the Gemini Principles; a collaborative top-down approach, driven by bottom-up integrated processes, embracing holistic systems thinking and pragmatic ontology, enabled by secured digital platforms, to derive better delivery and asset lifecycle outcomes. Its key value proposition is that it enables the story of an asset, infrastructure system or system of systems, registering its trigger events and the evidence-, risk-based decisions-making, from cradle-to-grave, the digital golden thread generating future benefits.

Hello, DTHub community, My name is Kihwan Seo, who conducts policy research on national spatial data infrastructure and digital twins for the Korean government. Recently, digital twins have become an important topic in the Korean government as well. I think there is a lot to learn from the UK's national digital twin programme. Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements(KRIHS) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(MOLIT) are planning to hold an international conference on GeoAI and digital twin on July 22. We are looking for someone to give a keynote speech on the topic of the UK's national digital twin programme. In fact, I sent a request message to Mark Enzer, the chair of CDBB DFTG, through DTHub's message function a few days ago, but I haven't received a reply yet. If anyone has contact with Mark Enzer, please help. If Mark Enzer is not available, you can recommend someone else. This conference will be held online and can be replaced with pre-recorded video files if live video conferencing is not available. Keynote speaker will be paid a presentation allowance. Thanks in advance, Kihwan Seo (Ph.D. in Geography) Research Fellow Spatially Enabled Society Research Division Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) Tel: +82-44-960-0650 Cel: +82-10-6571-3534 Email: khseo@krihs.re.kr https://eng.krihs.re.kr/

CDBB have asked both Atkins and Amelia Burnett of Clementine Consulting to undertake a collaborative piece of work to review the Digital Built Britain 'Vision' & 'Roadmap', as well as develop a 'State of the Nation' report. The aim being to reflect on the work to date, and provide an opportunity to update these elements in line with how the world's perspective on construction may have evolved since 2019. You can find out more about the programme in the attached document, or if you'd like to take part in our upcoming workshops and further support this initiative, then please complete this short survey HERE

After engaging with members of the DTHub to collect and incorporate your views, we are pleased to announce the publication of the Digital Twins for the Built Environment Standards Roadmap [Full Report] [Summary Report]. As reported by O’Sullivan and Brévignon‐Dodin, standards roadmaps support innovations and emerging technologies by helping their respective communities to coalesce around needs, priorities and approaches. This standards roadmap was developed to specifically support the consistent adoption of, and interoperability between, digital twins for the built environment within the UK. In doing so it recommends the development of several standards of varying types around two key themes: Digital twin framework for the built environment: This theme takes into account existing work at ISO to develop a digital twin framework for manufacturing so that the built environment approach can be compared to, and aligned with, the approach being taken by other sectors; and Digital Built Environment: This theme identifies gaps within the existing standards landscape to facilitate trusted, open, and secure exchanges of information to and between organisations through mechanism such as digital twins. The gaps within each of these themes were then developed into outline concepts to determine their dependencies and establish a critical path for their development. The first recommendation is an agile standard that outlines the overview and general principles relating to digital twins for the built environment. As such, this roadmap supports both the wider digital transformation of the built environment being supported by the likes of the Construction Leadership Council, Construction Innovation Hub, and the UK BIM Alliance as well as the realisation of the CDBB National Digital Twin Programme. Now published on the DT Hub [Full Report] [Summary Report], it is hoped that this standards roadmap will be supported by the DT Hub Community as well as all relevant stakeholders so that we, the built environment, can begin to establish consensus for good practice relating to digital twins. We invite you to read, comment, and share this standards roadmap to help make its recommendations a reality.

Today marks the DT Hub's first birthday and we are celebrating the incredible successes that we have had as a community. To mark the occasion we are pleased to present the DT Hub's first Annual Benchmark Report. This first report aims to share with you, our community, the progress and learnings that we have made this past year. You will find a retrospective summary and analysis of the year as well as highlights, key findings and recommendations for the year ahead. In keeping with our motto of 'Learn by doing and progress through sharing' we would like to invite you to share your thoughts and let us know what you think as we plan for the coming year. Below are four questions we’d like to invite you to answer which will give us an idea on how we can make the Hub better for you. The survey is anonymous so tell us what you think.

TechUK’s Digital Twins Working Group (DTWG) published a landmark report- ‘Unlocking Value Across the UK’s Digital Twin Ecosystem’- on Thursday 25th February. The purpose of this report is to drive consensus around terminology, highlight key prizes associated with digital twinning across the UK, and to set out strategic recommendations for industry and Government as to how the UK’s digital twin ecosystem can progress and evolve long-term. The report also sets out a handful of recommendations, including that there should be a cross-cutting, interdisciplinary co-ordinating body to promote their use. It would identify common information requirements and capability gaps, provide guidance on codes of conduct in the use of digital twins, and develop incentives such as tax credits or innovation funding. This would come with a 10-year public investment of £150-200 million to support innovation, adoption and diffusion, and strong roles for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). A further boost could be provided by an online procurement portal – the cost of which is estimated at up to £1.5 million – that would make digital twin offerings on the market more visible and less complex, and lead to improvements in their quality and affordability. Other recommendations are for a series of strategic demonstrator projects to show the value and identify barriers to the adoption of digital twins; to identify the skills needed to support their use; and for UKRI to run a demonstrator project on how the concept can support the aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

@Mark Enzer @Alexandra Bolton I enjoyed the discussion on this morning's Hub Insights. In the discussion on the year ahead for the NDTp you mentioned about making it 'real' and doing this by way of a demonstrator. I would be interested to understand what a 'demonstrator' project would look like in terms of scale/size and also in terms of the scope it would need to cover.

We've just had the first Hub Together and the question of how and what we should be doing in the interests of the common good came up. The point where we finished up and where this thread begins is that you can't spend years coming up with a plan, sometimes you just need to set yourself a goal, take a moment to orient yourself to achieving it and then get going and just do it. This is a bit of a challenge to the Commons stream who are doing a high level ontology, but my question to you is can the grassroots bottom up approach work hand in hand with a top down strategic approach?

We need to make sure we need to make sure we're being as inclusive and engaging as possible! Thoughts please.

It is proposed that the Information Management Framework (IMF) for the creating of a National Digital Twin will consist of three technical elements: the Foundation Data Model (FDM), Reference Data Library (RDL) and Integration Architecture (IA). The IMF will underpin the creation of an environment which supports the use, management and integration of digital information across the life-cycle of assets. The IMF will also enable secure, resilient information sharing between organisations and will facilitate better decision making across sectors. The National Digital Twin Programme has initiated work investigating this approach with a thin slice of the IMF for the Construction Innovation Hub, to support the development of CIH’s Platform Ecosystem. This thin slice of the IMF is called the FDM Seed. The FDM describes basic concepts such as space-time which are attributable across all areas of our industry. By developing this, the FDM provides a way to explore relationships between these different areas. The FDM Seed is an inception of the above concept and is proposed by starting smaller and watching the development grow - similar to a seed. The first steps of the FDM Seed project is to survey the landscape, to investigate what ontologies and Data models are already in use out there, what they can do, and their limitations, and assess what tools may be useful as a starting point for the FDM and the RDL. The starting point for the FDM is a top-level ontology, this contains the fundamental and generic types of things that exist and the fundamental relationships between them. The survey of Top-Level Ontologies (TLOs) uncovered a surprisingly high number of candidate TLOs with 40 being identified and reviewed, many more that we could have imagined. Fig 1.General classification of the TLO – taken from A Survey of Top-level Ontologies The final survey of top-level ontologies is, we think, the first of its kind. We were looking for an ontology that was rigorous, simple and with sufficient explanatory detail to cover our scope of interest, which is very broad. There are roughly two groups of TLOS, Foundational and Generic: The foundation are rigorous, principled foundations and provide a basis for consistent development and would be suitable for the FDM. The Generic tended to generalisations of lower level, rather than principled and lack a principled basis for extension, and therefore not suitable for the structure of the FDM, though likely to be use for the FDM generic lower levels. An RDL provides the classes and properties to describe the detail of an asset. The survey hoped to identify the most prominent of Industry Data Models and show the best starting point for the IMF RDL. There are many different RDLs in use across sectors. For the purpose of the FDM seed a limited analysis was carried out, but the list is open, and more candidates will be added for future consideration. Surveying and analysing the most commonly used RDLs will mean we are able to give guidance to organization when mapping their existing RDLs to the NDT. Next steps The Survey papers have now been published. We encourage you to engage with the National Digital Twin Programme to find out more about the approach, the results of the survey and the Assessments of the TLOs and Industry Data Models & RDLs. You can find these resources under the 'Files' tab. The Programme is now in the process of gathering their recommendations for the TLOs to use to start the work on the FDM Seed thin slice. We anticipate basing the FDM development on one of the TLOs, bringing in elements from others, based on the survey & analysis.

Hi all, Today I discovered that we (Wales) have begun to nationalize our rail service with all Transport for Wales routes coming under govt control. Cited in the comments is the need to focus on customers over profit. Considering @Tammy Au's earlier post about Flourishing Systems and re-envisioning infrastructure to put people first, I wondered how people felt about the National Digital Twin and whether nationalization will be seen as an opportunity or barrier? Interestingly now, Wales has nationalized its airport and is nationalizing a lot of its rail... Is Wales best placed for the first truly national digital twin? ?

Strategic planning for life after Covid-19 brings an unprecedented opportunity to change the way we view and manage our infrastructure. Mark Enzer, from CDBB makes the case for putting people first. The current pandemic has been a powerful but unforgiving teacher. It has demonstrated the importance of data and the power of digital models to derive insights from those data, to help us model outcomes, to guide the pulling of the levers to control “R” and to help us make better more-informed decisions. Covid’s disruptive impact across all sectors and societies has also revealed the interconnections and interdependencies between our economic and social infrastructure, highlighting the importance of creating resilient, sustainable and secure infrastructure systems upon which essential services depend. So why change our view of infrastructure? We have created an amazing, complex machine on which we wholly depend. Without it, our lives would be immeasurably worse. Society would not survive. That machine is infrastructure – our built environment. However, we don’t appreciate the relationship between infrastructure and our wellbeing. Therefore, we don’t set objectives in terms of outcomes for people and society. And although we understand each part of the built environment, we do not manage it as a whole. Therefore, we don’t know how to address its systemic vulnerabilities or make it work better. If we envision, plan and manage infrastructure differently, we can make it what it should truly be: A platform for human flourishing. Putting people first The Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) and the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) have recently published ‘Flourishing systems’, which makes the case for a people-focused systems-based vision for infrastructure. As we consider priorities following the Covid-19 outbreak, we have an opportunity to plot a new course that recognises the fundamental role of infrastructure in the social, economic and environmental outcomes that determine the quality of people’s lives. To do this, we must see infrastructure as a complex, interconnected system of systems that must deliver continuous service to society. Infrastructure is so much more than just a series of construction projects. Adopting a system-of-systems approach makes it possible to address the great systemic challenges such as achieving net-zero carbon emissions, improving resilience and preparing for a circular economy. It also unlocks the potential of digital transformation across the built environment. How digitalisation delivers value With the ongoing digital transformation of the infrastructure industry, we have the opportunity to deliver huge benefit for people – for whom infrastructure ultimately exists. Digital transformation encompasses how we function as organisations, how we deliver new assets and how we operate, maintain and use existing assets. Bringing digital and physical assets together creates cyber-physical systems – smart infrastructure. Effectively, this is applying the fourth industrial revolution to infrastructure. Making better use of asset and systems data is central to this vision because better analysis of better data enables better decisions, producing better outcomes, which is the essential promise of the information age. As part of this, we must recognise digital assets, such as data, information, algorithms and digital twins, as genuine ‘assets’, which have value and must be managed effectively and securely. In time, as data and digital assets become valued, data itself will be seen as infrastructure. We are now at a point where the vision for effective digitalisation of the whole of the built environment is within reach. Enabling secure, resilient data sharing Managing complex interconnected systems requires the appropriate tools. CDBB’s National Digital Twin programme sets out a structured approach for effective information management across the system as a whole. This approach is informed by ‘The Gemini Principles’ and is driven by the NIC’s ‘data for the public good’ report. The recent paper ‘Pathway Towards an Information Management Framework’ suggests an approach for the development of an Information Management Framework to enable secure, resilient data sharing across the built environment. It is this that will enable data connections between digital twins, which is at the heart of the concept of the ‘National Digital Twin’ – an ecosystem of connected digital twins. All systems go Taking a systems-based approach to our infrastructure will improve our ability to deliver desirable outcomes for people and society – around accessibility, inclusion, empowerment, resilience and wellbeing – not just for now but for generations to come. It will also better equip us to address the urgent global systemic challenge of climate change. It’s time to see infrastructure differently – as a system of systems that provides a platform for human flourishing. flourishing-systems_final_digital.pdf

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. https://www.ice.org.uk/news-and-insight/policy/covid-and-new-normal-for-infrastructure-systems 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.” How would such a mandate affect your digital twin journey?

Join us every Tuesday for the latest video in the series with discussion with the presenter at 10.30.

Great to have a forum to put these things in - thanks for the welcome! I have been working with the Royal Engineers for some time conducting Infrastructure Assessments, which build up a relatively quick cross sector network analysis so that we can understand its criticalities and vulnerabilities. This methodology is easy to learn, needs little or no technology and could provide the skeleton framework of our national digital twin at facility level. ( and below when required) The key benefits with this is that whilst creating the framework, it would become clear where the priorities lie and where we need to spend the time, resource and effort first. Whilst there are some great single sector or single owner examples out there, when we bring them together to understand their impacts on each other, the lack of a consistent methodology makes it difficult to see our country as a whole during periods of crisis. This is very relevant today because it it can also identify the human networks and vulnerabilities that are potentially crippling to the nation during the COVID19 crisis. Knowing which key workers make that particular network node vulnerable across multiple sectors, means that we could have more time to either train up a replacement or automate that role. Not a nice thought, but very pertinent at the moment. Happy to expand on this as questions arise. stay safe all.

Hi all, Alasdair Rae of University of Sheffield has published a blog piece about travel within 26 cities using open data to visualize how far can you travel from to reach a central train station by 08:45 on a Monday morning. http://www.statsmapsnpix.com/2020/03/45-minute-cities.html The ability to produce this visualization seems very relevant to the NDT programme. Particularly if you could simulate traffic interventions to see how it improved access across the city. Cardiff has fared quite well. How has your city performed?

The Centre for Digital Built Britain works in partnership with the Infrastructure Client Group's Digital Transformation Task Group (DTTG) on the National Digital Twin Programme and its Digital Twin Hub. To understand more about each initiative and to hear Mark Enzer, Chair of both DTTG and the National Digital Twin... View the full article

The National Digital Twin (NDT) has been cited by the National Infrastructure Commission as having the potential to unlock an additional £7 billion per year of benefits across the UK infrastructure sector. The NDT will be a national resource for improving the performance, service and value delivered by the UK's infrastructure; delivering benefits to society, business, the environment, and the economy. video.mp4