Use Cases

To bring the Vision and Roadmap to life, a selection of companies were engaged to develop digital twin use cases for transport, with input from industry. These do not cover all the possible use cases for digital twins in transport, but provide a selection of tangible examples of use cases which could support improvements for the user, reductions in environmental impacts, and growth of the UK economy. There are also a selection of use cases linked here from the Digital Twin Hub. The Digital Twin Hub, based at the Connected Places Catapult, is a network for finding partners and collaborators, for learning and sharing experiences; for driving innovation, developing expertise and advancing the state of the art for digital twins.

Passenger movement and behaviour digital twin

OpenSpace is creating a Digital Twin platform to visualise passenger movements and behaviours in railway stations, in order to monitor station performance and help operators provide better information and improve the customer experience.

The company has developed Digital Twins for three stations on the HS1 network: St Pancras International, Stratford International and Ebbsfleet International and combined them into one ‘federated’ Digital Twin network to predict passenger flows at each station. The aims of the project include allowing operators to make more informed decisions during disruption, better match train service supply to demand, and provide customers with personalised journey information.

Electric chargers for heavy goods vehicles

Syselek is developing Digital Twin capabilities for a project designed to provide the most effective use of electric chargers for heavy goods vehicles at fleet operators’ depot sites. The system will analyse when charging infrastructure is scheduled to be used and consider the recharging requirements of vehicles.

It is hoped that the Digital Twin system will help to inform investment decisions and guard against the specification of unnecessary installations. The company plans to consider preventative maintenance cycles in the model, and use it to reduce costs by ensuring that charging is encouraged at the most cost efficient times of day.

EV charging infrastructure for shared autonomous vehicles

Evo Track is developing a Digital Twin for building and managing electric vehicle charging infrastructure to be used by shared autonomous vehicles. It hopes to forecast demand and predict usage in order to support expansion of the public charging infrastructure, but without building too many units that are beyond what is needed.

The company uses a tool to identify charging locations likely to deliver a high return on investment. It has also developed a flood alert system for use at charging stations at risk of excess surface water, to help inform motorists if a unit is likely to be affected before flooding takes place.

Changes to highway network in urban areas

Slingshot Simulations has developed a Digital Twin called Compass Engine to predict the impact of introducing changes to the highway network in urban areas. It considers whether closing certain roads to reduce emissions may lead to unintended consequences, such as increasing air pollution and noise elsewhere.

It has built a digital model of Bristol and populated it with land use layers, traffic counts and energy performance certificates of nearby buildings. Traffic simulations have been run to predict emissions and noise in areas with lower quality housing that are less likely to have double glazing and could be affected more acutely by extra traffic.

Air pollution monitoring from road traffic

Digilab is building a Digital Twin called twinAir which monitors air pollution from road traffic in real time. It is also developing an associated platform called twinlab and is launching a ‘digilab academy’ to provide specialist training to artificial intelligence practitioners.

The company has created what it calls a ‘physics informed surrogate’ for the city of Exeter that collects air quality data from the roadside. It then scales this information up in order to provide a more accurate picture of traffic related pollution right across the city throughout the day, rather than relying on data from a small number of sensors.

Underground freight transport system

Mole Solutions is developing an underground freight transport system to propel goods through pipelines to help relieve congestion on the highway network, reduce air pollution and ease safety concerns associated with road haulage. The system plans to use magnetic tracks to carry driverless capsules, and could be installed between factories and distribution centres, providing a just-in-time delivery service.

Digital Twins are expected to be used to model and simulate the underground transport system prior to construction and, once built, monitor track condition and performance of the network. The use of Digital Twins could also oversee the network’s propulsion system and supply chain requirements.

ROADMAP

Strategy and innovation

Key Contributors

Academia
Industry
Government
Innovation Funding Bodies
Lead
Contributor

Outcomes

  • Strategic innovation plan to ensure a common path of travel for all stakeholders and delivery partners working within the connected digital twin environment
  • Clear understanding in the transport sector of how connected digital twins can provide value with recognised and repeatable value propositions
OutputsActivities

Research and innovation strategy defined for connected digital twins in transport

2023 - 2026
 Innovation Funding Bodiesis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
Academia is a Support Contributor.
  • Understand the landscape of activities from those engaged in research and innovation relevant to this roadmap, plus key industry stakeholders and consumers of digital twins
  • Carry out digital twin maturity assessment
  • Formulate a connected digital twins research and innovation strategy co-created by TRIB members, including government, funding bodies, and industry
  • Establish forums and frameworks for collaboration on research and development
  • Identify core opportunities that connected digital twins present and develop core use cases to inform innovation strategy

Key milestones defined for achieving an ecosystem of digital twins in transport

2023 - 2032
 Innovation Funding Bodiesis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
  • Identify key milestone activities and establish the timelines to achieve them, conduct regular reviews and update these

Identified infrastructure and services supporting requirements of connecting digital twins

2024 - 2026
 Innovation Funding Bodiesis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
  • Identify who will provide and maintain those assets and services and establish relevant collaborations
  • Identify underlying infrastructure and services that will support the development and use of digital twins

Outcomes

  • Understanding of the types of procurement frameworks that are applicable to connected digital twins
  • Understanding of commercial models that are applicable to connected digital twins
  • Better ways and approaches to create awareness of connected digital twins
  • Value of connected transport digital twins demonstrated in multiple applications and modes
  • Funding security in place to cover the long term maintenance strategy of the operationalised connected digital twin asset
OutputsActivities

Accessible procurement frameworks for connected digital twins

2025 - 2028
 Governmentis the Lead Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
  • Review of existing framework/contract agreements
  • Design frameworks/contracts for procuring data or connected digital twins

Appropriate routes for the investment and finance community to invest in connected digital twins and provide maintenance and management funding throughout the lifecycle of connected digital twins and their assets

2026 - 2028
 Innovation Funding Bodiesis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
  • Engage with investment and finance community to understand their requirements for investing in connected digital twins and present value propositions
  • Explore how the investment finance community can leverage and benefit from the opportunities that connected digital twins present
  • Design appropriate mechanisms to attract investment from the finance and investment community
  • Design appropriate mechanisms to ensure that funding required to maintain and manage the connected digital twin as an asset is in place

Commercial models in place to address funding needs for connected digital twins including maintenance

2024 - 2026
 Innovation Funding Bodiesis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
  • Assess short and long term funding needs of connected digital twins
  • Identify challenges and risks for future, based on mapping out current practices
  • Develop relevant commercial and operating models that align with vision, phase within the asset lifecycle, technical capabilities and level of interdependency required with others
  • Digital twin practitioners understand the needs of senior leaders when seeking to raise capital

Marketing strategy in place to communicate achievements in digital twins and attract stakeholders

2026 - 2028
 Governmentis the Lead Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
  • Develop marketing and communications strategy to showcase progress and attract new stakeholders and investments

Outcomes

  • Clarity on which connected digital twins use cases would provide most value for stakeholders, for example improved safety, increased efficiency, better maintenance
  • Connected digital twins use case trials, testing and implementation
  • Connected digital twins are being tested in real world situations, covering ethical, security, resilience, legal, regulatory, commercial and sustainability considerations
OutputsActivities

Baseline for digitised assets to establish the direction for digital twins in the transport sector

2023 - 2025
 Governmentis the Lead Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
  • Review early adopter case studies and learnings, codify best practice and use in leadership engagement
  • Assess the current level of digitised assets and establish the direction for digitisation of assets in the transport sector and other adjacent sectors

Use cases identified based on customer/industry/government needs and the value gained from combined data

2024 - 2026
 Industryis the Lead Contributor.
Academia is a Support Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
Innovation Funding Bodies is a Support Contributor.
  • Identify key stakeholders and relevant use cases based on customer/industry needs within various transport sectors for decarbonisation, improving transport for the user and economic growth
  • Identify relevant use cases on basis of government priorities - to align to government agenda and strengthen case for government funding
  • Identify opportunities for connected digital twins across sectors
  • Review examples and learnings from adjacent sectors (energy, built environment, telecoms), that could complement and intersect with transport related use cases

Business case for use cases that require government funding and for those that industry will invest in

2027 - 2028
 Industryis the Lead Contributor.
Government is a Support Contributor.
Innovation Funding Bodies is a Support Contributor.
  • Develop a proposal for a use case trial that enables the creation and testing of an ecosystem of digital twins
  • Develop business case and secure any funding and commitment required from government for identified use cases

Operationalised connected digital twin use cases

2031 - 2035
 Governmentis the Lead Contributor.
Academia is a Support Contributor.
Industry is a Support Contributor.
Innovation Funding Bodies is a Support Contributor.
  • Identify a set of digital twins to connect together in an ecosystem
  • Identify and test a set of prioritised use cases for connected digital twins

The TRIB-commissioned Vision and Roadmap, produced by the Connected Places Catapult, consists of workstreams, components, outputs, outcomes and activities, which collectively guide us towards a future in which we achieve the shared vision in 2035.

At the top level, the roadmap shows different workstreams together with their corresponding components. A click on each component opens up the expected output and target delivery date. A further click on ‘Explore this workstream’ presents the output and associated activities, the key contributors and supporting organisations, outcomes, and a selection of relevant publications.

These activities are the building blocks which can be used to achieve the 2035 Vision and have been selected based on those which are likely to have the most impact. The Roadmap has been developed in collaboration with experts from academia, industry and government (further detail on the partners and stakeholder pages), but the list of activities is not exhaustive and prioritisation has been conducted by assessing the greatest potential impact of the activities.

Learn More
WorkstreamComponentTarget output end year
2023-20252026-20302031-2035

Strategy and innovation

Explore this Workstream

Enabling environment

Explore this Workstream

People, skills and culture

Explore this Workstream

Technology and data

Explore this Workstream