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Data generated by cloud services, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning have created interest in digital twins.
The transportation construction industry faces incredible challenges: As infrastructure ages, budgets tighten, the labor pool remains sluggish and projects increase in complexity, a true up-to-the-minute picture of physical assets is critical. At the heart of it all, digital twin technology is transforming the way those who plan, build and maintain infrastructure do their jobs.
Digital technology in general is a powerful tool the industry can utilize to move light years ahead by simply accessing timely data on a project.
Data-centric digital workflows can streamline activities and deliver insights for better decision making. That's where digital twins come in.
They're "realistic, dynamic digital representations of physical assets, processes or systems," according to Mass Transit magazine.
Data generated by cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have created interest in digital twins.
The industry wants to know how the technology can transform the way infrastructure is planned, developed, built and operated, according to Mass Transit.
Tapping Infrastructure Intelligence
The technology, used by NASA since the 1960s, continuously updates in near-real time. Data sources include surveys, inspections and IoT-connected sensors. Digital twins represent state, condition, location and performance.
Steve Cockerell is industry marketing director for transportation of Bentley Systems. He discussed the capabilities digital twins offer.
"They provide real-time views of critical information in the built world," he said.
Digital twins offer insights that improve the way we envision, construct, operate and maintain these systems, said Cockerell.
The "ability to visualize assets, check status, optimize performance and predict failure through digital twin technologies" is critical to the process.
It "provides the visibility and insight needed to let data drive better decisions," Cockerell added. "It is the data in digital twins that are the foundation for infrastructure intelligence."
Cockerell, a highway designer himself, found in Denver, Colo., a scaled approach to bridge management using digital technology. There, a bridge asset manager worked with an infrastructure technology provider to form a digital twin to tackle bridge inspection and maintenance.
Courtney Shepard, bridge manager, is responsible for 630 Denver bridges. John Barone leverages technology for clients of engineering consultant Stantec.
Cockerell described how the two embraced going digital to scale the basis for a digital twin that encompassed an array of assets.
"Both wanted to go beyond simply visualizing an area's real-world context to include IoT-connected devices that produce continual data into real-world conditions," he said.
They chose Highland Bridge as a starting point for gathering data that would help operations and maintenance teams improve decision-making. Connecting pedestrians in the Highland neighborhood to downtown Denver, the span crosses Interstate 25, rail lines and the South Platte River.
Shepard and her team were most concerned about bridge vibrations. Stantec installed sensors with accelerometers and tilt meters to capture dynamic movement.
With sensors secured into place, Bentley's IoT technology was used to bring together data in one location, said Cockerell. Sensors now provide daily data on Highland Bridge's performance and can send alerts to the team if movement exceeds specific parameters.
"This digital twin means that at any given time, the city and county of Denver knows the current state of the bridge," he said. This knowledge, in turn, helps the agency "target specific maintenance and avoid the need for extended shutdowns."
Transforming Stakeholder Workflows
Captured and stored data needs to be shared by all stakeholders. And viewers need easily analyzed context to provide insight and inform decisions.
That's where intelligence — artificial and machine — have a big impact, said Cockerell.
"Automated analytics will have an important role in making sure the right data is visible in the right application," he said.
He added generative AI (GenAI) learns the patterns and structure of existing data to generate new with similar characteristics. And GenAI "has the biggest potential to transform workflows" for infrastructure, he said.
In Minnesota, the department of transportation launched a rehab of the historic Roberts Street Bridge across the Mississippi River.
The undertaking required a pre-project inspection to assess structural deterioration. The detailed inspection involved collecting information traditional methods and software programs could not accommodate, said Cockerell.
Collins Engineers turned to AI-powered digital twins to supplement conventional workflows. The firm utilized drones to collect data on the historic structure and processed it through a digital program to create a digital twin of the bridge. The detailed data was then uploaded using digital technology and engineers used AI to detect defects so inspectors could pre-inspect the bridge in the office.
The ability to capture info in the digital twin saved the time and expense involved in a field inspection.
"In addition to the increased ease and speed of data collection and analysis, this digitally enabled workflow also delivered quality improvements," said Cockerell.
This in turn allowed senior engineers to perform a quality review of the inspection data directly in the digital twin. Leveraging digital twins through Bentley's bridge monitoring solution meant that the data could be shared with the entire team. It was possible because of the technology's centralized inspection, inventory and testing information.
"The team expects to see a minimum of 20 percent in construction savings," Cockerell said.
He attributes the savings to improvements in the quality of data collected and better decisions enabled through digital twin workflows.
Resilience, Sustainability for the Future
It's proven that a digital twin system also can help to support operations and maintenance activities. In fact, AI services have been combined with computer vision to build a machine learning model that can identify maintenance issues across roadways.
"Replacing costly and often slow manual data collection workflows, it can detect anything from potholes to traffic light outages, vegetation conditions," said Cockerell.
He added the method also can detect other safety issues, including the location of active work zones.
Combining the computer vision technology with digital twin, Bentley makes it possible to integrate engineering and simulation models. The result for owner-operators is improve awareness and timely mitigation of road conditions.
The incorporation of AI services within mobility digital twin offerings means deeper asset analytics to help owners solve their roadway system challenges.
"There are many commonalities across these innovative projects," said Cockerell, whether it's bridge inspection, transit design or roadway maintenance. "Principally though … it is clear that, as an industry, we must take advantage of the huge opportunity digital technology and transformation offers."
He believes visibility and timely access to trusted data is critical to success. Digital twins' ability to drive data-based decisions is a key tool in the process.
Technology Redefining E&C Partnerships
Technology has become a key component in engineering and construction firms' future planning. Contractors are seeing the value in leveraging digital technology and adopting new systems such as GenAI.
Deloitte AI Institute labels GenAI as a subset of AI in which "machines create new content in the form of text, code, voice, images, videos, processes…"
The firm sees industry leaders prioritizing technology investments with a goal of efficiency improvements to mitigate workforce, cost and supply challenges.
"The rise of GenAI could mark a pivotal moment in the industry's digital transformation, building on the momentum gained during the pandemic," said the company.
The technology's potential for enhancing efficiencies is attracting both E&C and construction technology companies.
Both sectors are exploring solutions to scale the technology to their business needs.
Deloitte surveyed corporate COOs and found that 55 percent believe the main barrier to creating business value with AI is "identifying the right use cases."
The firm found that E&C firms are concerned about cyber risk, data security and lack of trust.
"Developing comprehensive risk mitigation strategies can help address concerns as companies explore generative AI applications," said the company.
While exploring the applicability of GenAI, companies can move forward with other AI and emerging technologies, such as digital twin, to realize value.
"With … digital technologies already in place, drones and autonomous guided vehicles could be used in a range of scenarios at construction sites," said Deloitte.
The technology is already being used in site inspection and monitoring, as well as task optimization in material delivery, surveying and installations.
"These emerging technologies … can improve profit margins, foster stronger partnerships," said Deloitte.
They also can help build relationships between stakeholders and functional departments and improve integrated project delivery.
E&C firms can leverage technology for higher-level opportunities, including new services or business models that may not have seemed practical in the past.
"It is important to recognize that these technologies depend on human intelligence and oversight," cautioned Deloitte. "Regardless of advancements in construction technology … a human-in-the-loop concept requires the involvement of highly skilled individuals."
Qualified staff must carry out tasks such as fact-checking, in-depth analysis and understanding the complex details needed for each construction process.
"Furthermore, for technology initiatives to gain widespread adoption and scalability, companies should have strong ecosystem alliances and partners," said the firm.
Those partners include technology providers, operations vendors, contractors and automation vendors among others, and the buy-in picture looks healthy.
Cockerell of Bentley believes the disruption in traditional technologies is a good thing, especially where digital twins are concerned.
"While we are still in the relatively early stages of the disruption that digital twins will cause … they are changing the way that our users are working today," said Cockerell. "No one can be sure where they will take us, but I am convinced that digital twins with AI will build on existing momentum."
He believes the technology will grow "with increasing velocity, ultimately becoming a key tool in the working lives of engineers the world over." CEG
Lucy Perry
Lucy Perry has 30 years of experience covering the U.S. construction industry. She has served as Editor of paving and lifting magazines, and has created content for many national and international construction trade publications. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she has a Journalism degree from Louisiana State University, and is an avid fan of all LSU sports. She resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, who has turned her into a major fan of the NFL Kansas City Chiefs. When she's not chasing after Lucy, their dachshund, Lucy likes to create mixed-media art.
Read more from Lucy Perry here.
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