Digital Twins: A new frontier for improving comfort and wellbeing
With interest in digital twins increasing at rapid pace, it’s predicted that investment in this technology will reach more than $48 billion by 2026. As digital twin technology matures, its valuable capabilities are becoming more evident. Across the industry, descriptive and informative twins are being built, acting as virtual representations of physical assets. Linked by live data through IoT sensors, they forge seamless connections for users.
Innovating with Autodesk Tandem
KEO International Consultants is an award-winning multidisciplinary consultancy operating in the Middle East and Europe. The firm has a clear vision of being a leading digital innovator in the market and is committed to developing its long-term digital capabilities.
As an early adopter of digital twin technology, KEO wanted to explore how the team could harness its capabilities to measure, define, and optimize comfort for people inhabiting buildings.
Passionate about implementing new technologies within the AEC industry, Mateusz Lukasiewicz, Digital Project Manager at the consultancy, has been using Autodesk Tandem to push the boundaries of what’s currently possible with the software – capitalizing on its features in unison with generative design and custom solutions.
Leveraging connected near real-time data
For the pilot project, Mateusz wanted to learn from the data and use its insights to maximize comfort, wellbeing, and productivity levels. Before starting in Autodesk Tandem, he first created the digital model in Autodesk Revit. Once complete, he imported the 3D Revit model into Tandem and created the Descriptive Digital Twin.
Next, to track various metrics across the building, the team selected and installed a combination of touch, occupancy, proximity, and air-quality sensors at the facility. To make the twin fully operational, these sensors were then connected to Tandem—transforming it into an Informative Digital Twin. Mateusz explained, “The process of obtaining data from the sensors into Tandem is very straightforward.”
Mateusz Lukasiewicz, Digital Projects Manager, KEO International Consultants“The process of obtaining data from the sensors into Tandem is very straightforward.”
Now capable of capturing near-real-time data for various metrics such as the times desks are occupied, and the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and carbon dioxide concentration in the air, the digital twin offered Mateusz the required data for further analysis in relation to project objectives.
Pairing the digital twin with generative design for optimal performance
Mateusz aggregated the sensor data in Autodesk Tandem, enabling him to visualize the data in context to the building using heatmaps. To go beyond the current capabilities, he would then go back into the Revit model and, using the Dynamo add-in, he created a custom parametric model. This pulled in the data from hundreds of data streams, analyzing the results and building custom visualizations.
Within the pilot project, he created his very own intricate mathematical formula to measure comfort, wellbeing, and productivity. Taking into consideration five key factors; desk occupancy and proximity, daylight accessibility, air quality, proximity to noise sources, and proximity to communication paths, he utilized the data readily accessible from the connected IoT sensors to identify the optimum solution.
The formula accounted for over 1,000 variables and by using optimization methods and computing different permutations, it calculated results for over 100,000 combinations of desk assignments.
By creating a custom generative model with Dynamo, implementing optimization algorithms, evaluating what-if scenarios, and visualizing the data using bespoke dashboards, Mateusz has achieved a tailor-made comprehensive digital twin solution that took the possibilities of addressing the project KPIs to the next level.
Excited about what’s possible with digital twin technology, custom solutions, and optimization algorithms, Mateusz said, “There is enormous potential in using near-real-time data because it enables us to compare the design criteria against the actual condition in the asset that we are living in.”
Mateusz Lukasiewicz, Digital Projects Manager, KEO International Consultants“There is enormous potential in using near-real-time data because it enables us to compare the design criteria against the actual condition in the asset that we are living in.”
Making measurable improvements
As well as aggregating geographical, geometrical, and non-graphical information, Mateusz’s formula enables the team to explore what-if scenarios, realizing the benefits of a comprehensive digital twin and going beyond the standard digital twin implementation of today’s market.
KEO’s custom solution enabled the team to identify potential improvements that could lead to 11% boost in occupants’ comfort and wellbeing, a 30% reduction in distractions, and impressively, a daylight accessibility improvement of over 75%.
By having access to the near-real-time data from IoT sensors, asset monitoring and maintenance is simplified. Not only does it enable the facility operators to quickly spot optimization opportunities, it also allows them to predict and prevent equipment failures and reduce maintenance team response times. With these insights, owners and operators minimize the risk of disruptions or downtime for their occupants, leading to a more successful service.
Mateusz Lukasiewicz, Digital Projects Manager, KEO International Consultants“We’ll continue developing our custom solution and work towards achieving autonomous digital twins to help us and our clients gain enormous benefits of using this new technology.”
Looking ahead, now that the pilot project has been successfully completed, Mateusz shared KEO’s vision: “In the future, KEO will continue to use digital twin technology to improve asset monitoring and maintenance. We’ll continue developing our custom solution and work towards achieving autonomous digital twins to help us and our clients gain the enormous benefits of using this new technology.”
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