---
id: terms/digital-twin
about:
  label: What is a digital twin?
  description: >-
    A computational representation of a real object, place or system, linked to
    information about its real-world counterpart.
term: {}
provenance:
  origin: survey
  sources:
    - title: 'UK government: digital twin definition, October 2025'
      url: >-
        https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-twin-definition/digital-twin-official
  reviewed: 2026-09
  reviewed_by: 'survey draft, not yet rechecked'
  status: proposed
---
The update interval depends on the application: traffic signals and long-term housing plans operate on different clocks.

A traffic twin, for example, combines a road network with traffic counts, signal timings and vehicle movements. It can help an operator respond to congestion or let a planner experiment with a different junction layout.

This guide is about large-scale systems with public consequences: cities and regions, electricity and water networks, transport and crowds, watersheds and ecosystems.