Real Estate Industry: Don't Wait for the Perfect Digital Twin; invest in Light-Weight Solutions for Improved Performance and User Experience.

The real estate industry is taking its first steps toward digitalization, and one of the most promising areas of growth is the use of digital twins. Digital twins are virtual representations of physical objects or systems, used to simulate and analyze the object's performance and behavior. According to Ken Dooley's blog post , digital twins are currently positioned in the Trough of Disillusionment in Gartner’s hype cycle. The existing dialogue of digital twins for buildings has centered around Building Information Models (BIM), which are considered the perfect digital twin that contains heaps of information and detail with complex 3D visualization. However, as Ken Dooley states, we’re quite far in the roadmap of delivering these perfect digital twins for the end-user of buildings. But should we wait for the perfect digital twin, or are there simpler digital twin solutions out there that can offer real business value right now?

In Ken Dooley's blog post, he explains that there are four different kinds of digital twins in terms of complexity: The As-built digital twin, Building Services digital twin, Interactive floor plan digital twin, and Business intelligence dashboards. These different types of digital twins offer different levels of complexity and information, depending on the needs of the user and the stage of the building lifecycle.

While BIM models are highly detailed and complex digital twins typically used during the design and construction phase of a building project, they include a wealth of information on a building's design, materials, and systems, and are essential for the planning and construction of a building. However, BIM models are typically not used again once the building is completed.

On the other hand, light-weight digital twins, such as the Haltian Empathic Building, are simpler and less detailed digital twins that are primarily used for operation and maintenance. They can be used to monitor and control the performance of physical systems in real-time, leading to improved energy efficiency, increased comfort for occupants, and reduced downtime due to equipment failure. Additionally, light-weight digital twins can be used for remote monitoring and management, allowing building managers to access real-time data on the building's performance from anywhere. Incorporating location data into light-weight digital twin can provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of the performance and behavior of the physical systems being monitored, allowing for more effective decision-making and improved efficiency.

The use of light-weight digital twins can bring significant value to the real estate industry throughout the entire building lifecycle. By providing real-time data on the performance of physical systems and allowing for remote monitoring and management, light-weight digital twins can help improve the performance, efficiency, and overall value of a building. Additionally, incorporating lean digital twins into building user interfaces can greatly enhance the user experience for building occupants. By providing real-time information on the building's systems and performance, light-weight digital twins can help improve the comfort, productivity, and overall well-being of building users.

In conclusion, it is important for the real estate industry to start investing in light-weight digital twins now. By providing real-time data on the performance of physical systems and allowing for remote monitoring and management, fast-to-implement digital twins can help improve the performance, efficiency, and overall value of a building. Additionally, incorporating simple digital twins into building user interfaces can significantly enhance the user experience for building occupants. If real estate industry does not use digital twins now, building users will 'vote with their feet' meaning that buildings without digital twin as user interface to support their well-being, will soon be empty. The Empathic Building by Haltian is a mature and readily available light-weight digital twin solution that can bring significant value to the real estate industry throughout the entire building lifecycle, Real estate companies should start utilizing this solution today.

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