Application of digital twin technologies in construction: an overview of opportunities and challenges

Haibo Feng*, Qian Chen, Borja Garcia de Soto

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Digital twin technologies have been widely used among different industries, for which different conceptual models and system architectures have been proposed. However, the processes are required to establish a digital twin for intended use cases have not been fully studied. This study adopts a systematic literature review analysis focusing on case studies on digital twin models, highlighting the practical steps in developing a digital twin and the challenges faced by various researchers in this field. After a rigorous selection of relevant literature, a total of 23 scientific publications were systematically reviewed. The literature focused on recent publications (2016-2021) to convey updated information regarding the developments of digital twins in the construction domain. The findings synthesized the main processes of establishing and using digital twin technologies in the AEC industry, including the data acquisition processes, data transmission processes, data modeling processes, data integration processes, and the servicing processes. Although digital twin models could improve the stakeholders’ decision-making processes, several challenges regarding data integration and data security still exist in the current applications. The digital twin models require people with the right skills to construct them, a large amount of funds, and the latest technologies with higher computational power to successfully develop them.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2021
EditorsChen Feng, Thomas Linner, Ioannis Brilakis
PublisherInternational Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
Pages979-986
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9789526952413
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Event38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2021 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 2 Nov 20214 Nov 2021

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction
Volume2021-November
ISSN (Electronic)2413-5844

Conference

Conference38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited Arab Emirates
CityDubai
Period2/11/214/11/21

Keywords

  • Digital twin technologies
  • Information integration
  • Stakeholder collaboration
  • Sustainability
  • Use cases

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