Public agencies are testing a tool that could take monitoring of bridges and dams to a higher level by using data from drones and sensors in a digital twin.

The private operator of the Canada Line in Vancouver is using a digital twin of the 19-km-long, 16-station, 12-year-old transit system for predictive maintenance and infrastructure planning.

Getting the digital twin workflow into the typical design, construction, operations cycle has been a thorny problem for digital twin advocates.

Four BIM experts in a commentary say you will need precise data to document costs and savings.

Willow and Parsons Corp. have won a five-year contract from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to create and support a digital twin for the maintenance and operations of Runway 18R/36L and Terminal D, which were recently renovated as part of DFW’s airport-wide modernization.

As was the case with BIM nearly 20 years ago, digital twins are now reshaping the built world in terms of how infrastructure is designed, constructed, and operated. 

Keeping track of construction progress is often a matter of waiting for engineers and site supervisors to walk the site and document it when they can. Getting that data into the general project pipeline is a challenge in itself.

Boston Dynamics' Brian Ringley offers a perspective on the industry's digital future, including the potential convergence of BIM, digital twins and robotics.

With the company’s IPO bringing Bentley into the sphere of publicly traded companies, the software maker plans to continue its expansion into the construction phase of projects.