Digital Twins in the Sports Industry

From New Media Business Blog

Digital Twins in the Real Estate Industry

Digital Twins have been used in the real estate industry and help reduce operating costs by up to 35%, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance user experiences. [1] "41% of real estate professionals rank “better user experience” as the greatest opportunity for digital twins to deliver value, ahead of “budget reliability (33%) and “faster delivery” (21%)." [2] "While only a small number of studies have examined digital twins in real estate, the evidence so far points to a 7% reduction in construction timelines, up to 20% percent decrease in capital expenditure and a 3.5% increase in occupancy" [3]

In addition, Digital Twins has helped real estate agents with listings and finding potential buyers [4]. The 3D model also allows "real estate agents showcase properties, enabling prospective buyers or lessees to view spaces anywhere, at any time". [5]

Currently, only 33% of companies think they have the skills to operate a digitally transformed business. Around 45% of the companies increase their investments in key technologies, such as cloud and digital channels. [6]

One of the main drivers of the adoption of Digital Twins in real estate is the increasing pressure on the real estate industry to consider their environmental impact. Buildings contribute to 40% of carbon dioxide emissions globally [7]. As many companies are trying to meet the 2050 net-zero target, they have to consider how to decarbonize the real estate industry. Using digital scans with sensors data, building managers can learn more about the metrics of "energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a building". [8] In addition, "[s]mart, connected and green buildings rent for 8.2% more than the buildings without those features. And they trade for 23.7% more than the buildings without those features." [9]

Risks of Digital Twins in Real Estate Industry

From the perspective of risk management, which is a fundamental aspect of the real estate business, stakeholders can assess risks more effectively by using Digital Twins. Insurance companies can evaluate properties with a higher degree of accuracy, while property owners can monitor potential safety hazards, such as fire risks or structural issues, proactively. This not only reduces insurance costs but also enhances safety." [10] "Only 5-10 percent of commercial property locations are physically inspected for risk and, even in those that are, less than 25 percent of risk recommendations are followed up." [11] "[B]eing overly reliant on historical data leaves insurers exposed, as it provides only a partial view of risk, while real-time actionable data derived from digital twins and AI can promote accurate risk selection and pricing, and help prevent catastrophes." [12] "The adoption of digital twin technology will change the management of real estate. Security executives will need to work closely with the CTO and develop new skills to manage and plan multi-level security strategies. This new technology makes it possible for them to model and evaluate physical security system performance under specified conditions of threat and system operation." [13]

Use Cases of Digital Twins in Real Estate Industry

According to AIMultiple, the five use cases of Digital Twins in the real estate industry: [14]

1. Facilitate knowledge management: "Digital twins can streamline knowledge management in a cost and time-effective way. Digital twins contain/reflect all the information about a building, such as its design plan and also real-time data about their ecosystem." [15]

2. Enable fast and data-driven decision-making: "Digital twins generate a 3D model of the real estate based on the collected data, showing the facade and interior of the building, such as floors, equipment activities, and systems. The benefit of these simulations is their dynamism: anytime an adjustment is made in the real world, simulations reflect it. Thus, the real-time properties of a building are visible at all times." [16]

3. Optimize the real estate development: "[D]igital twins can be programmed to simulate the real-time status of a building at any time ... operators can plan, visualize and monitor the building’s development to assess similarities between the ideal designed model and the ongoing project." [17]

4. Reduce operating costs: "Digital twins can bring visibility to the different systems, such as lighting and HVAC, and the role that tenants play in emissions. The building managers can, then, use the insights to prepare efficient systems management. Digital Twins also allow operators to monitor the facility on their smartphones or tablets and identify the exact point where the problem occurs, which lowers operating costs." [18]

5. Foster sustainability: "The digital twin real estate model can allow buildings and site managers to improve their corporate sustainability. With digital twins of the buildings’ ecosystems, managers can monitor CO2 emissions, pollution, and waste collection at the building. The designers can simulate different scenarios and calculate the outcome of any change in their models, such as replacing energy systems with a more sustainable option." [19]

Examples of Digital Twins in Real Estate

Digital Twins in Las Vegas

In January 2022, Las Vegas implemented Digital Twins on the "seven square kilometer section of its downtown to help model current and future scenarios that will help it set priorities and take action to address energy use, emissions, traffic, parking, noise, and emergency management. [20]

The project was a "collaboration between Chicago-based digital twin platform Cityzenith and Las Vegas-based data firm Terbine. The model uses street-level data collected in real time through Internet of Things sensors and the city’s 5G network." [21]

"Cityzenith’s partnership with Las Vegas is part of the company’s “Clean Cities - Clean Future” initiative, which aims to use its SmartWorldOS platform to help reduce urban emissions and improve cost efficiencies for building owners." [22]

"A May 2021 report from Ernst & Young predicted that digital twins used in construction and real estate could help commercial property and infrastructure owners reduce energy consumption by up to 50% and reduce operating costs by 35%." [23]

Torre Universal Building

"The Torre Universal building is a key landmark in Costa Rica's rapidly developing digital quarter and represents the next phase of Microsoft's journey to prove the concept and value of digital twins in the built world." [24]

Torre Universal created a digital twin which includes "real-time integration with multiple building systems created on Azure Digital Twins." [25]

"With Azure Digital Twin as a foundation, [Torree Universal] leveraged Microsoft’s IoT platform and partnered with Willow for WillowTwin capabilities, VergeSense for occupancy sensors, and Schneider BMS to deliver one holistic Digital Twin of the Torre Universal building. The WillowTwin visualizes together spatial, static, and live data to provide contextual insights about the building. [I]t enables as-built 3D models and asset data to be mapped to Digital Twin Definition Language (DTDL), to create a robust, standardized and relationship-rich dataset. This data set is paired with live BMS inputs, electric metering and room occupancy data being generated from the building in real-time. As a result, live BMS, metering, and occupancy data can be trended and contextualized alongside the spatial and static data available for a building or a space." [26]

From implementing Digital Twins, Torre Universal has been able to analyze:

1. Building performance: "[They were able to] visualize and evaluate the performance of the Building's HVAC system against industry specified performance. The 3D model also improves total building performance and reduces operational energy costs. Over time this data can be used to reduce maintenance costs and implement preventative maintenance measures, as well as inform future building designs." [27]

2. Space Performance: "[Torre Universal] was able to collect anonymous data on how spaces are being used and then display this information within the twin. This type of data can inform maintenance and cleaning crew to create more efficient cleaning routines saving staff's time, yielding faster space turnaround time, making it available quicker for the next employee to reserve it. ... it also allow[s] the building planner to evaluate the occupancy against assumptions made during the design period. [They] can [also] assess the use and efficiency of space to inform future space planning" [28]

3. Intelligent Maintenance: "[The 3D model] allows facilities managers to make cost-accurate quotes and thus lower direct repair costs. Once on site, locating an asset once the repair parts have arrived is faster if the 3D model is available, saving technician valuable time. [It] also helps the technician know what supporting tools to bring, such as if [a] ladder is needed, etc., thus reducing the need for multiple trips to the site." [29]

"Having Digital Twins also allows facility managers to quickly locate assets and makes safety reviews less burdensome. Examples include safety and security assets that require inspection i.e., fire extinguishers, elevators, fire dampers etc. The impact of this is not only a reduction in time spent on the asset assessment or time spent for safety review submittals but also greater assurance for meeting legal requirements." [30]

Authors

Audrey Berlian	Tanvir Dosanjh	Ami Edgmon	Ramiz Sabahat
Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada	Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada	Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada	Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada
audreyberlian@gmail.com	tanvirdosanjh4@gmail.com	amiedgmon@gmail.com	ramizsabahat90@gmail.com