Inductive Theorization of Construction Digital Twins: Deriving A Taxonomy of Applications and Enabling Technologies

Digital twin in the construction phase—termed Construction Digital Twin (CDT)—faces more significant challenges than in other phases, such as operation or maintained phase, due to the dynamic and evolving nature of construction sites and their broad spectrum of applications. To enhance our understanding of the CDT domain, it is crucial to clearly define it, establish a detailed taxonomy of its current applications and enabling technologies, and elucidate how attributes, data requirements, and technology choices within CDT vary across different construction applications. This objective remains unmet in existing literature, a gap this paper addresses through an approach combining systematic review, thematic coding, and conceptualization of CDT architecture comprising of five layers: sensing, communication, storage, analytics, and visualization. The study identifies seven major applications of CDT and maps them to the five architectural layers and their enabling technologies, providing insights into the suitability and prevalence of these technologies for specific applications of interest.