Digital Twin

(translated from German with DeepL)
The term ‘digital twin’ has been used more and more frequently in recent years, including in the field of geoinformation, and is a good marketing tool. Impressive 3D visualisations attract attention. But what does a digital twin actually do? The term is used in a wide variety of contexts, sometimes with a prefix such as ‘technical twin’ or ‘geobasis twin’, but often without. Sometimes a digital twin refers to a single construction project, sometimes to a city, region or even the whole of Switzerland.

At the kick-off meeting of the working group, it became clear that there are many unanswered questions about digital twins – or is it digital twins? – from a wide variety of perspectives. Over the next few months, the working group aims to establish a common understanding of the structure, impact and, above all, benefits of digital twins. We want to learn from each other how digital twins can be successfully designed and operated. We will highlight which processes and issues can be handled much more easily than before thanks to the functionalities of digital twins. However, we also want to discuss which standards and norms are important, what a reference architecture could look like, and which interfaces digital twins particularly depend on in order to overcome today's silo structures.

We are delighted to be creating a strong forum with this Community of Practice group, which brings together professional, technical and strategic developments – paving the way for digital twins to deliver real added value for administration, the economy, the environment and society in Switzerland.

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