Guidehouse‘s market intelligence arm has released a report detailing that the annual municipal revenue for digital twin technology used in smart cities is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2031 at a compound annual growth rate of 25.2 percent.
Guidehouse Insights said Wednesday digital twins, which virtually represent physical objects, can help cities transform data into applications that support urban life.
The technology can simulate buildings, streets, trees and other city components in a digital model that governments can use to estimate how changes would impact an urban environment, according to the firm’s report titled Digital Twins for Smart Cities.
“Due to the ability of digital twins to thoroughly monitor the present and simulate the future and digital twins’ relatively low cost, cities are beginning to make them a standard tool for urban planning and design,” said Grant Samms, a research analyst at Guidehouse Insights.
Samms added that climate resilience efforts have used digital twins to model the impacts of climate-driven disasters.
Guidehouse Insights noted that lack of knowledge is the primary factor that hinders municipalities from adopting digital twins, but believes this limiting factor will reduce over time.
ExecutiveBiz Events will host the Digital Twins Forum on April 14 to foster discussion about the opportunities, challenges and potential new uses of digital twin technology. Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, program executive officer for weapons at the Department of the Air Force, will keynote the event. Register for the upcoming forum here.