Source - Freepik
The digital twin of a building, along with indoor navigation and tracking systems, plays a crucial role in transforming the management and operation of modern facilities. These technologies help optimize space, enhance security, and improve companies' operational efficiency. These solutions find applications across various industries—from logistics and healthcare to corporate building management. In this article, we will explore how integrating digital twin technology with navigation and tracking systems opens up new possibilities for facility management.
What is a Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual building model that reflects the current state of its assets or systems. It is created by gathering large volumes of data from different sources and using it for modeling. In other words, a digital twin is a computer-based representation of buildings or assets. The virtual model accurately represents physical objects and acts as their counterpart.
A digital twin of a building can simulate virtually everything—from objects to services or processes. For these purposes, GIS geospatial technology collects, displays, and stores location data. It helps perform extensive data analysis, visualizing and updating the information in real-time.
The digital twin operates as follows:
- Real-time data collection.
- Conducting intelligent analysis and forecasting the technical condition of the building.
- Modeling the operation of engineering equipment.
During operation, the virtual model combines current business process data with information from RTLS-based technologies to create a real-time digital twin representation of the building. Since every digital twin is software-based, it has its data model, object-tracking tools, and software and user interfaces.
The primary goal of digital twins is to improve the accuracy of forecasts at every stage of the building's lifecycle—from project design and construction to operational processes. Moreover, they provide companies with valuable information about the state of their assets, perform analyses, and offer insights into which processes or products are currently functioning or will function in the future.
Benefits of Digital Twins
Using digital twin technology, processes and data can be visualized in the context of a specific enterprise. Statistics and tabular data do not always give a complete picture of changes in company operations and their subsequent impact on business processes. However, a 3D model makes it easy to identify bottlenecks and find optimal solutions to eliminate problems.
Key benefits of digital twins include:
- Big data analysis: Virtual models can process vast amounts of information and consider the relationships between all components of a building and its internal elements—materials, engineering systems, staff, structures, and more.
- Improved indoor tracking: The digital twin allows accurate monitoring of assets inside a building. This data is later effectively used to optimize workflows.
- Enhanced management: Leadership gains detailed information on building repairs, equipment installation or upgrades, accidents, and other incidents, leading to a significant improvement in the quality of management decisions.
What are Indoor Positioning Systems?
Since digital twins can be integrated with indoor positioning systems, it is worth giving special attention to these platforms. Together with the virtual model, the following can be used:
- Indoor navigation: A set of algorithms that solve a wide range of tasks based on the location of an object. With indoor navigation, routes within the building can be mapped, step-by-step movement instructions can be provided, and users can receive promotional or informational push notifications based on location.
- Indoor asset tracking: An effective system for positioning and tracking objects within a building. Its implementation allows companies to monitor personnel, assets, and visitors around the clock. The platform provides geo-fencing and movement history and helps quickly locate objects on the site's map.
Various technologies operate these systems, the most common of which are Bluetooth® LE, UWB, and Wi-Fi. Sensors (tags, beacons, markers) send signals with unique identifiers, which readers capture to determine the precise location of objects. These locations are displayed on digital twin building maps via mobile devices.
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How Digital Twins are Used for Indoor Navigation and Tracking
A digital twin of a building helps users effectively monitor key services and systems inside facilities. Integration with positioning and navigation systems allows for more efficient use of the workspace, enhances security, and creates detailed digital maps for optimizing business processes.
More Efficient Use of Space, Enhanced Safety
By leveraging the benefits of the system, business processes can be streamlined, and employee safety can be improved. The system helps track staff and equipment movements, prevents machinery collisions (e.g., forklifts), and alerts company managers when restricted areas are entered.
The digital twin of a building provides opportunities for more efficient use of internal space. Its use can model possible scenarios for business processes, and forecast operational results. Each process is controlled remotely, and the data obtained allows management to successfully manage assets without involving maintenance staff.
Opportunities for Creating Detailed Maps in Real-Time and More Efficient Data Analysis
A digital twin is created as a virtual map of indoor space. Essentially, it is a visual representation of every point within the building, containing associated data about the location of people or assets. Through mapping, vast data, 3D reality models, and various images can be gathered, which are transmitted from cameras on walls, ceilings, or mobile objects.
The creation of digital twin technology maps helps track enterprise processes. Management not only gets full visibility of assets or operations but can also review monitoring history and analyze data more effectively. The information received can be further used to predict equipment failures, assess the lifespan of equipment, or determine the need for servicing critical enterprise assets.
Thus, digital twin technology integrated with indoor positioning and navigation systems has become indispensable for businesses. These systems are actively used in many industries and are particularly relevant for enterprises seeking maximum control over their operational processes. They assist in developing business processes, optimizing production, and enabling more effective management.
Navigine offers tools for organizing indoor tracking and navigation systems. We are ready to provide a comprehensive platform for asset tracking and help integrate the system into your digital twin building, making your operations more productive. For all inquiries about implementing the platform into your company's infrastructure, contact us via email info@navigine.com or fill out the contact form.
