DIGITAL CHAM PION | DIGITAL TWINS TWIN CITIES Buro Happold has collaborated with video games developer Epic Games to add another dimension to its digital twins. Andy Pearson speaks to Buro Happolds Miraj Patel about the latest developments in digital engineering and the potential of the Unreal Engine Buro Happolds digital twin models can create highly accurate and comprehensive virtual replicas of cities D igital twins are a game-changer for Buro Happold, literally. The consultants geoscience and digital twins team is using computer-game engine software to enable it to create immersive, collaborative and interactive 3D digital replicas of physical entities, such as cities. A big part of using a gaming engine is enabling user immersion, because interaction and experience are a big part of a digital twin, says Miraj Patel, associate graphical information systems (GIS) and digital twin developer at Buro Happold. Another major benefit, according to Patel, is the almost photo-realistic rendering capability that game engines bring to enhance the immersive experience. Depending on how you build it, with a VR [virtual reality] environment users can jump into it and almost feel it, he says. The innovative use of game engines to enable the creation of immersive digital twins was one of the reasons Buro Happold was crowned Digital Champion at the CIBSE Society of Digital Engineering Awards in December. Game engines enable Buro Happolds digital twin models of cities, for example, to incorporate vast datasets of geographical and environmental characteristics, to create highly accurate and comprehensive virtual replicas of cities. It is the ability to combine information within the digital twins, and use it to run simulations, that reduces decision-making time and enhances collaboration, says Patel. It also enables those using the model, such as urban planners, to make more informed decisions. With this enhanced level of detail, municipal bodies are able to use the digital twin to monitor infrastructure performance, or run scenarios to assess the impact of a road closure, say, or flooding. Environmental organisations can assess the impact of developments and their alignment with sustainability goals, while engineering firms can adapt and generate infrastructure designs more effectively. Levelling up Buro Happolds digital twin journey started five years ago, when the team set out to ensure all the data it had and was collecting was saved in a format that was usable universally. To enable all of its various data sources to be used, the engineer put in place a framework and protocols to ensure its data management systems were sound. Patel describes these as technology/software agnostic robust data standards. This data management provides the foundation for Buro Happold to use its data in the development of digital twins for a wide variety of projects, scenarios and applications. Patel says engineers generally come to the digital team with a problem statement/ challenge that needs a digital solution. We 44 March 2024 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE March 24 pp44-47 Digital Twin Cities.indd 44 23/02/2024 16:59