Using digital twins to decarbonise UK transport
A new national hub focused on rapidly decarbonising transport in the UK, including road, rail, air and maritime, has been launched.
The TransiT Hub, a collaboration of eight universities and 67 partners jointly led by the University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University, will identify the lowest-cost, least risky and most energy-efficient way to decarbonise transport by developing a digital twinning approach.
Digital twins are digital replicas of the physical world. They are created using data collected by sensors connected to real-world infrastructure – for example, motorway, railway, shipping or flight monitoring systems. The digital twin rapidly analyses the real-world data to test and improve different scenarios and then sends back its solution for an improved process to the physical world. This exchange happens almost instantly. An example would be a digital twin automatically updating digital road signs with information on the shortest route out of a traffic jam, based on real-time traffic data in that location.
The TransiT team expect their testing to include elements of a future decarbonised UK transport system that don’t yet exist – for example, electric road systems and alternative fuels.
The digital twin can help experts in the physical world understand where and how best to deploy these future systems by analysing a range of data. This could include information on what transport services communities and industry are forecast to need and where they can be simulated and tested in the virtual world in advance of real-world deployment.
Digital twinning allows different transport configurations to be tested and developed much faster than real-world engineering projects, until the lowest-cost pathway to net-zero carbon emissions is identified.
Data used to build the digital twins will include transport operations data from TransiT’s industry partners such as number and type of vehicles, fuel types, load sizes, length and frequency of routes and links to other transport modes, such as ports and road networks. Transport users will also contribute to citizen research to help scientists model human travel behaviour and travel choices.
David Flynn is a Professor in Cyber Physical Systems at Glasgow and joint director of TransiT. “We will explore how digital twinning can improve the design of future transport solutions, to ensure services are accessible to all. It’s challenging for designers and engineers today to appreciate the perspective of citizens with mobility challenges and what they experience throughout the full journey. If we can create and embed new design principles, we can identify equitable pathways to decarbonisation.”
This article was first published October 2024.
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