From Sci-Fi Clones to Smart Cities, We’re Demystifying Digital Twins

When you first heard the term ‘digital twin,’ you could be forgiven for having thought someone had invented a robot version of you to take all your meetings. Sadly, it’s not a sci-fi clone but a smart digital model of a building or system helping us run things better. I’m still waiting on that robot assistant though!

What is a Digital Twin?

A digital twin is a dynamic and interconnected digital replica of a physical asset, system, or environment. It provides real-time insights by linking data streams with detailed models that reflect the past, present, and predicted future state of the physical counterpart. This enables informed decision-making, better asset management, and scenario testing without costly real-world interventions.

When and Why Your Organisation Might Benefit From One

Digital twins are not just futuristic concepts reserved for large governments or heavy industries. Increasingly, New Zealand companies of various sizes and sectors can reap real benefits by adopting digital twin technology at the right time and for the right reasons.

You might consider exploring digital twins if your organisation needs to:

• Improve asset and infrastructure management: If you manage complex assets such as buildings, utilities, transport networks, or manufacturing equipment, digital twins can provide real-time monitoring and predictive insights that help reduce downtime, optimise maintenance, and extend asset lifecycles.
• Enhance planning, design, and decision-making: When infrastructure projects or operational changes require testing multiple scenarios, a digital twin enables virtual simulations that can save time, cost, and reduce risks before committing in the physical world.
• Support sustainability and circular economy goals: Digital twins help track resource flows, manage energy efficiency, monitor environmental impact, and support reuse or recycling initiatives, aligning with New Zealand’s increasing focus on sustainability and kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
• Navigate complex regulatory or climate challenges: For organisations facing heightened compliance standards or climate adaptation pressures, digital twins can integrate data from multiple sources to provide a holistic view and better risk management capabilities.
• Drive operational efficiency and innovation: In industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, or smart cities, digital twins enable advanced data-driven optimisation, predictive maintenance, and scenario planning, helping you stay competitive in an evolving market.
• Build collaboration and stakeholder engagement: By creating shared digital models connected to iwi, local communities, or multiple agencies, digital twins foster more inclusive and informed decision-making processes.

While digital twin technology is still emerging in New Zealand, its application is expanding beyond large sectors to medium-sized organisations ready to innovate and improve resilience. The key is aligning digital twin initiatives with clear organisational goals and starting with focused pilot projects to demonstrate value.

Real Use Cases in New Zealand Infrastructure

Though still an emerging technology here, New Zealand has some compelling digital twin examples shaping its infrastructure future:

• Wellington City uses a digital twin combining GIS maps, city sensor data (transport stats, air traffic, cycle flow, carpark availability) and climate science. It supports co-designing climate adaptation solutions and integrates mātauranga Māori knowledge, enabling richer community and planning engagement.
• Christchurch has integrated seismic sensor data into its digital twin since 2016, improving earthquake resilience planning and emergency response.
• Hastings District Council created a digital twin for its Toitoi Arts and Events Centre, monitoring environmental factors like CO2 levels and energy consumption. The project aims to expand to all major council buildings and assets to better manage carbon footprint and resource usage.
• Auckland has piloted models and plans for a city-wide digital twin focusing on urban planning and infrastructure efficiency, although its full-scale implementation is still in development.
• Sector Examples extend beyond cities to agriculture, with forest and orchard digital twins supporting sustainable growing systems. These enable resource tracking, predictive maintenance, and facilitate circular economy objectives like reuse and recycling.

Lessons Learned So Far

From local projects and international parallels, several insights stand out:

• Data quality and sharing are critical: The effectiveness of digital twins depends on high-quality, interoperable data and willingness across organisations to share it.
• Collaboration drives success: Working closely with government, industry, iwi, and communities ensures relevance and trust in the twin’s design and uses.
• Standards are needed: Lack of universal standards makes scaling and interconnecting twins difficult; efforts toward common frameworks are underway.
• Digital literacy and skills gap: A shortage in data literacy limits potential. Building capability alongside technology adoption is essential.
• Value beyond visualisation: Digital twins enable cost savings, better stakeholder engagement, environmental impact reduction, and data-driven decision-making across asset lifecycles.
• Patience is required! Large-scale or national digital twin efforts take years to design, build, and mature; meanwhile, component models for specific projects provide immediate benefits.

How to Get Started With Digital Twins

If your organisation is ready to explore digital twins, consider these practical steps:

1. Identify clear objectives and use cases Define what problems you want a digital twin to solve, whether it is asset monitoring, risk management, planning, or sustainability.
2. Assess your data landscape Understand what data assets you have, their quality, and interoperability gaps. Data governance and sharing agreements may be necessary.
3. Pilot with scoped projects Begin with manageable pilots such as a key building, transport network segment, or utility asset to test technology and value propositions.
4. Engage stakeholders early Collaborate with IT teams, asset managers, external partners, iwi, and community representatives to align on design and outcomes.
5. Build digital literacy and skills Equip your team to understand and work with digital twins, including data interpretation, modelling, and scenario analysis.
6. Plan for integration and scale Design your digital twin with standards and future connectivity in mind to benefit from broader regional or national projects as they arise.
7. Leverage government and industry initiatives New Zealand has growing support for digital twin development, including the New Zealand Digital Twin Partnership and infrastructure resilience programmes. Engage with these for guidance and collaboration.

Digital twins are more than hype. They represent a transformative way to understand, manage, and optimise New Zealand’s infrastructure in a complex and changing world. By learning from early successes and challenges, starting small but thinking big, and investing in data and people, your organisation can harness digital twins to enhance resilience, sustainability, and innovation.