term· proposed
What is a digital twin?
A computational representation of a real object, place or system, linked to information about its real-world counterpart.
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.