In the water sector, building virtual reproductions of tangible assets like water treatment facilities or water networks is referred to as establishing “digital twins.”
Another possibility, though, is to “digitally twin” an entire region by first coupling soft satellite sensors and ‘hard’ ground sensors to regional environmental and infrastructural models.
Eventually, this could assist in tying together various utility digital twin models to support long-term water decision-making.
According to Christos Makropoulos, a major scientist at KWR and a professor at the National Technical University of Athens working on the IMPETUS project, which is supported by Horizon 2020.
The project’s objective is to protect local communities by translating high-level climate promises into practical initiatives.
Tangible, urgent actions
IMPETUS is a four-year project that brings together a multidisciplinary coalition of 32 partners as part of the EU Water theme “Climate-resilient Innovation Packages for EU regions.”
Regional digital twins are a key component of the solutions we offer, which aim to assist regions in creating adaption paths, according to Makropoulos.
This is about a digital representation at a regional scale rather than “twinning” a specific treatment plant or water solution network.
Digital twins are “actively integrated, accurate digital representations of our physical assets, systems and processes with a constant stream of data linking them to the physical counterparts for continuous model update and calibration – and vice versa,” according to the definition of the term used in the context of water.
Makropoulos thinks that, in the long run, a digital twin of an area might serve as the basis for conversations among stakeholders.
“Think of a region as a puzzle board with real-time environmental updates. The stakeholders can obtain a shared understanding of what is happening right now and how things may develop by adding pertinent information “Added he.
Making climate promises into urgent, practical initiatives to protect communities is one of the goals of IMPETUS.
This includes assisting in the acceleration of Europe’s climate adaptation plan and the achievement of goals to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
A convergence of software worlds
The professor believes that we are witnessing the convergence of software ‘worlds’: BIM (building information modeling), GIS (geographic information systems) and environmental and infrastructure modeling (e.g. simulations of water distribution systems).
“The term digital twin has caught up faster than the technology has matured. But it promoted an increased realization that more system integration is needed to see real value. Although we don’t have full-blown (off-the-shelf) digital twin technologies, we are taking steps toward this integration. The idea of digital twins provides a point in the horizon to help with our integration course,” he added.
Despite the ambitions, legislative and commercial challenges remain, as well as cyber security issues.
However, it encouraged a greater understanding of the need for greater system integration to realize true benefits.
Makropoulos took part in the STOP-IT (Strategic, Tactical, Operational Protection of Water Infrastructure against Cyber-Physical Threats) H2020 EU project, which looked at water infrastructure as cyber-physical infrastructure.
A toolbox was created to enable utilities to investigate how physical and digital systems interact from a security standpoint.
The professor says, “It’s crucial to go into this with our eyes open because the more digital twins we generate, the more relevant cyber, physical and entire system approaches to security become.
Source: KWR Water Research Institute
