September 26, 2022

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The Growing Trend of City-Scale Digital Twins Around the World

Digital Twins
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A digital twin is a digital model of a physical asset. It collects information (via sensors, drones or other IoT and Industrial IoT tools) and applies advanced analytics, machine-learning and artificial intelligence in order to receive real-time insights about the physical asset’s performance, operation or profitability.

For Digital City Twins, hundreds of IoT systems and public databases are consolidated into a single portal creating a “digital twin” of the city. The simulation allows users to monitor construction progress, traffic, environmental conditions, public safety, energy consumption and building occupancy.

Such technology looks set to play an increasingly important role in the creation of smart cities around the world and in addressing major public health, safety, environmental and natural disaster issues. Bringing the virtual and physical worlds together in this way can help to better inform decision-making, reduces risk and also acts as a citizen engagement tool.

In the realm of smart cities, a digital twin is a virtual model of a city, a replica of the physical world. They are rapidly becoming indispensable tools to visualize the pulse of the city in real-time with layered data sources of buildings, urban infrastructure, utilities, businesses, movement of people and vehicles.

Rotterdam: Delivering Better City Operations

Rotterdam, Amsterdam has been developing and applying a variety of smart solutions to urban problems in recent years. A smart thermal grid is being constructed, for example, that will facilitate heat exchange between buildings and make entire neighbourhoods more energy efficient. Smart parking and intelligent (electric) mobility are supporting better traffic flow, and a range of other benefits are helping make life better for inhabitants.

Improving Citizen Living in France

Rennes Metropole in France has developed a digital 3D model covering the city’s entire territory. This online model is used in various ways, for urban mediation with citizens, and for urban development purposes such as sunshine simulation, noise modelling, tree shadow impact on buildings

Using the Digital Twin for Virtual Tourism

Helsinki using a Digital Twin as a testing tool open to the public, also for mitigating climate change and improving energy efficiency. But Helsinki is also using the digital twin to become leaders in Virtual Tourism. Virtual Helsinki is a digital experience that enables users to visit the city’s digital twin created in high-quality 3D. They will be able to visit all tourist attractions and this can be done at any time of the year, simply by using virtual reality glasses and an app.

Digital Twin to Help Provide World-Class Logistics

The city of Columbus, Ohio in the USA which won the US-wide Smart City Challenge in 2016. The Smart Columbus campaign aims to improve people’s quality of life, drive economic growth, provide better access to opportunities, become a world-class logistics leader, and foster sustainability by interconnecting infrastructure services, starting with transportation, housing, and healthcare, to model how new technologies work in a real city.

Singapore: The Most Advanced Digital Twin to Date

Singapore is widely recognised as one of the more advanced of the smart city digital twins. Virtual Singapore, project which was overseen by Dassault Systémes using its 3DEXPERIENCE platform is already well developed. The project offers four main capabilities to stakeholders: Virtual experimentation, test-bedding, decision-making and research & development.

Amaravati: A City Created from a Digital Twin

The first entire city within India, born with a digital twin is Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is proposing a digital twin user ID scheme for every citizen that will serve as a single portal for all government information, notifications, forms and applications.

These are just a few cities solving their unique challenges and improving urban life through digital twinning and the trend seems to be that more and more cities will soon create their own digital twins. Portland in the US has a Digital Twin activated by residents’ cellular data. Dubai in the Middle East is using a Digital Twin project focusing on user experience and Yingtan in China has its’ 5G Digital Twin.

A digital twin is an invaluable tool that is set to become a cornerstone of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The digital city brings together the physical and digital worlds through Internet of Things technologies but also ties in the social world by creating a platform for all stakeholders. Starting with the digital twin, cities can begin to develop a new range of applications that will optimise, enhance, and improve all aspects of urban life.

ASTRI and HKBU to Explore Cutting-Edge Tech and Propel Tech Transfer

Image Credits: ASTRI, Press Release
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The HKSAR Government has set out a clear direction and goals for the future development of innovation and technology (I&T) in Hong Kong, leading Hong Kong to become an international I&T centre. The Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) is working to maintain a close connection with the academic community and collaborate to consolidate the upstream competitiveness, vitalise the enthusiasm and initiative of transferring R&D results of the University to applied scenarios, and accelerate the process of implementation and industrialization.

ASTRI and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at “Fostering University Cooperation in Technology Transfer” on 22 September 2022 to jointly create a new era of smart living and cross-disciplinary technological development.

The extended cooperation covers the areas of smart traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) service systems, pharmaceutical R&D, Artech, and Fintech, as well as interdisciplinary research and its application, to promote technology innovation and transfer. ASTRI, HKBU and its affiliated institutions will co-develop several cooperation models for R&D, including cutting-edge technologies including AI and big data analysis, as well as intellectual property management and commercialisation.

The MoU was witnessed by the Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors, and the President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; it was signed by the ASTRI’s Chief Executive Officer and the Interim Chief Innovation Officer of HKBU on behalf of both parties on the campus of HKBU.

Under the agreement, the two will enhance collaborative research and promote the transfer and commercialization of technology results. In addition, they will set out their respective intellectual property rights and ownership of R&D results to promote the commercialisation of collaborative R&D or projects implemented by both parties or affiliated institutions of HKBU. In addition, the partnership aims to reduce the R&D time, improve the utilization of resources and accelerate the application of R&D results.

The Chairman of ASTRI’s Board of Directors noted that approximately 100 R&D projects are conducted every year in ASTRI aimed, ultimately, commercialisation. ASTRI proactively collaborates with HKBU to build an R&D commercialisation platform, promote cooperation in an all-around way, and enhance synergy in talents, resources, R&D, etc. Leveraging perspective advantages, the two can create unique R&D conditions in key areas such as pharmaceutical R&D, AI and Fintech, to seize the new opportunities in the I&T era.

The President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU noted that the transfer of research outcomes is the third mission of universities. HKBU has identified three focused research areas including Creative Media and Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, and Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

The University has also established six interdisciplinary research laboratories to allow all faculties and departments to fully unleash their areas of excellence, stimulate intellectual interaction on common topics, explore and discover new cutting-edge technologies, and provide solutions to cope with challenges in society. The collaboration between HKBU and ASTRI provides abundant opportunities for knowledge transfer of these technologies.

ASTRI and HKBU will cooperate on a project basis to deepen their mutual vision of technology exchange and development. This includes determining the contribution of each stakeholder in the development of R&D results, as well as the ownership, funding arrangements, project implementation responsibilities and intellectual property protection of R&D results of relevant joint projects. This will enable both partners to explore opportunities for technology commercialization with the intellectual property owned by both parties. It will also ensure that local R&D can be effectively turned into applied technologies and enlarge the production capacity.

Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology Unveils AI4VN

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The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) recently launched a series of seminars to kick-start the 2022 Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Day (AI4VN) in Hanoi, earlier this week. The seminars discussed AI solutions in finance banking, training and connecting AI human resources, and automation in production.

Launched in 2018, AI4VN is an annual event held by MOST. It gathers a wide range of stakeholders in the AI community, including policymakers, technology corporations, researchers, and university students. Seminars delve into the development of an AI ecosystem to improve the quality of life and explore solutions to help businesses break through with AI technology.

During the recent event, experts stated that more than 60% of companies operating in the financial-banking sector are testing AI. An official from the Viettel Cyberspace Centre said in the next three years, the accumulation of AI databases will bring great value, contributing to solving many problems.

Pham Hien, a researcher from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)’s Data61, introduced a project on the AI market in Vietnam, which is built exclusively for the formation and strengthening of the AI ecosystem in the nation. It focuses on developing databases and algorithms to automatically collect, store, and update profiles of Vietnamese AI experts at home and abroad; an index to track the development of AI in Vietnam; and business models to enhance research-industry collaboration in the field.

The Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Automation Association also spoke at the event. He noted that automation is divided into seven levels, with most businesses in Vietnam now at the level 3-4-5 or partial automation. In the digital era, the traditional business model will be eliminated and replaced by a digital transformation model of corporate governance, he added.

The implementation of the 2022 AI4VN sees the coordination between a Vietnamese online newspaper and Aus4Innovation, an AU $10 million development assistance programme being enacted under the Vietnam-Australia innovation partnership.

According to data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), more than 1,600 Vietnamese are studying and working in AI-related fields. Only about 700 people, including 300 experts, are doing this work in Vietnam. In Vietnam, the supply of AI personnel meets only 10% of the recruitment demand of the domestic market.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), to solve the problem, businesses must recruit experts from abroad, recruit young talents for training, or hire from domestic and foreign training institutions. State-run enterprise Viettel has actively recruited overseas Vietnamese experts and engineers specializing in AI from the US, France, Russia, and South Korea, and cooperated with experts in many countries (US, Japan, Singapore, Finland).

Only about 30% of IT graduates can work in AI, and the rest must be further trained. Experts say that it is necessary to have a professional training programme on AI. Also, instead of considering AI as part of information technology faculties, undergraduate and graduate training programs specialising in AI and data science should be developed. Training at universities is a crucial step in solving staffing problems.

Indonesia Launches Information Aggregator Website

Image credits: kominfo.go.id
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The information from numerous ministries and institutions, even local governments, will now be combined into one website. The aggregator website Indonesiakini.go.id has been launched by the Ministry of Communication and Information.

This action will make it simpler for the public to obtain reliable information on the numerous policies and initiatives that the government has implemented and will continue to implement.

“We hope that with this website, the public can find out the current situation, and condition of Indonesia by just clicking on one website. The existence of this website makes public communication more integrative, more orchestrated in the eyes of the citizens,” says Usman Kansong, Director General of Information and Public Communication of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

The Director General outlined how Indonesia’s presence will undoubtedly address the difficulties of rapid, widespread, and integrated public communication. He continued by saying that the dynamics of information and communication technologies that cause the disruption make it difficult for government institutions to handle public information and communication in a way that allows for adaptive public consumption.

It must be acknowledged, nonetheless, that not all local governments, organisations, or ministries have combined their material into a single repository. Communication activities must be adjusted to the changing public communication landscape in government institutions to facilitate the public’s access to information.

The Ministry of Communication and Information has the responsibility to coordinate the planning, preparation, and implementation of public communications related to policies and programmes of the government, in accordance with Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2015 concerning the Management of Public Communication.

The Ministry is also responsible for organising information into a single narrative for the Presidential Instruction. The presence of Indonesia will undoubtedly be the ideal setting for bringing together the various government channels.

The public will now have easier access to information about the government’s development initiatives. The four information channels held by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics will soon be integrated into the Indonesian aggregator website.

This includes 115 universities, 34 provincial governments, 98 city governments, and 416 district governments. There are also 37 additional ministry sites, 7 institutions, 2 sites run by the presidential palace, and 37 other sites.

Indonesia has collected 588 websites belonging to various institutions, local governments, and ministries. 746 locations total, or 79 per cent of the target, have been reached.

Meanwhile, residents of South Sulawesi, particularly Makassar City, are prepared for the end of analogue television broadcasts and the subsequent transition to digital television broadcasts. In July 2022, periodic opinion polls performed by the Ministry of Communication and Information confirmed this readiness.

Rosarita Niken Widiastuti, a member of the Minister of Communication and Information’s Special Staff, reported that 82.94 per cent of Makassar and its surrounding residents were interested in viewing Digital TV broadcasts.

The willingness of the citizens of Makassar City cannot be separated from the contribution of the performance of the Broadcasting Institution. All 18 analogue broadcasting institutions in Makassar City and its surroundings have transitioned to digital broadcasting.

Furthermore, the Director of Broadcasting of the Directorate General of Post and Information Technology at the Ministry of Communication and Information, Geryantika Kurnia, noted that there are three determinants of readiness prior to the implementation of the Analogue Switch Off (ASO) programme.

According to the Director, 112 Service Areas are affected by ASO in Indonesia due to the prevalence of analogue television broadcasts. LPP TVRI, the Indonesian public television network, is actively constructing infrastructure for the remaining rural sites, of which 90 are already receiving digital transmissions.

Digital Literacy Training for PWDs in the Philippines

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The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) recently taught people with disabilities (PWDs) how to be digitally literate. According to Johanna F. Tulauan, DICT provincial officer, the Digital Literacy Training was part of their duty to implement a Specialised ICT Training Programme aimed at meeting the unique demands of diverse industries across the nation.

The DICT officer added that the training aims to provide participants with basic information on ICT-related subjects that will enhance their knowledge and, in the long run, provide them with opportunities for employment or entrepreneurship; aid the government in bridging the digital divide while bolstering inclusiveness among the special needs sectors of the nation.

It will also bridge digital literacy gaps to determine which target groups across different sectors have the greatest needs and where the greatest benefits could be obtained for individual groups and for society, and it will empower both urban and rural-based marginalised groups across different sectors by enhancing their ICT capabilities and by promoting the greater use of the internet and technologies in their daily activities. The training included both lectures and hands-on exercises on Computer and Internet Essentials, Productivity Tools, and Troubleshooting and Networking Fundamentals.

Similarly, the Department of Education has set up ICT programmes like the Learning Resource Management and Development System, an online library with free teaching and learning materials that can be downloaded, and ICT literacy programmes for primary and secondary education.

The Bureau of Alternative Learning System is part of the Department of Education. Its Community Learning Centres offer free education to young people who are not in school, including those with disabilities. These learning centres offer basic computer classes on how to use technology.

In the meantime, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has announced that the online platform for the registration and licensing of Social Welfare and Development Agencies (SWDAs) and accreditation of social welfare development programmes and services are now available following the re-launch of the improved DSWD Regulatory eServices.

The DSWD Regulatory eServices enable SWDAs to submit requests with the required documentation and to receive real-time updates on their application status. In addition, data confirmations are implemented to reduce the likelihood of human error and ensure that only precise information is kept.

In addition, Secretary Erwin T. Tulfo physically navigated the actual online registration process for an SWDA account to observe how the platform operates.

The Secretary commended the DSWD Standards Bureau and the Information and Communications Technology Management Service for pioneering the development of the online platform as part of the Department’s efforts to institutionalize digitalization in the delivery of social protection programs.

The upgraded DSWD Regulatory eServices will act as the nation’s consolidated database, facilitating the generation of reports, monitoring of status, applicant profiling, and application filing by Social Welfare and Development Agencies (SWDAs). This is one of the things being done to change how basic services are delivered, and it looks at a national health emergency where physical separation is strongly recommended.

The Secretary also praised and acknowledged the essential functions of the SWDAs in the provision of social welfare services to Filipinos. With the improvement of the DSWD Regulatory eServices, the Department strives to assure the accuracy of the data and information on the Registration, Licensing, and Accreditation of SWDAs and to give SWDAs and Non-Governmental Organisations with digital access to the Agency’s regulatory services.

Singapore to Boost Maritime Decarbonisation, Digitalisation

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The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the potential to advance net-zero goals in Singapore’s maritime sector and actively support the next generation of workers.

As part of the three-year cooperation, the DNV Maritime Decarbonisation & Autonomy Regional Centre of Excellence will collaborate with SIT’s Sustainable Maritime Engineering Strategic Translational Research Programme on several R&D and instructional projects.

Both parties will collaborate on the development of ship and system designs utilising simulation-based methodologies, joint industry-applied research projects with entities in the Singapore maritime ecosystem in the areas of decarbonisation and digitalisation, and deeper and broader knowledge exchange.

The MoU signifies a new level of collaboration with SIT and the beginning of a partnership centred on innovation, education, and cooperation that will assist in accelerating the sustainable transition goals of the marine industry.

The MOU will allow DNV to assist SIT and other Singapore maritime organisations in using DNV’s Simulation Trust Centre for instructional and R&D objectives. The two will collaborate on research to advance zero-emission and autonomous ships, shore remote control and simulation centres, shore charging, and future fuel bunkering infrastructure. DNV plans to share knowledge in maritime decarbonisation and digitisation to SIT to build industry postgraduate programmes under the terms of the agreement.

The relationship combines the university’s applied learning methodology with a Simulation Trust Centre to deliver courses on ship optimisation and system design for advanced hydrodynamics, energy management systems, emission control, and system safety. Students will also get the opportunity to work on capstone projects in unique marine technology applications, complete their Integrated Work Study Programme, and co-organise student contests.

Singapore is a global marine hub that facilitates the testing of novel solutions. It is critical to involve both Institutes of Higher Learning and industry partners to ensure that R&D efforts and investments support the marine transformation.

The relationship provides SIT with tremendous chances to increase R&D, which will assist Singapore to become a leading and sustainable marine hub by harnessing new technologies and innovation.

Furthermore, the strong collaboration between academics and industry will boost authentic learning for the students and contribute to competence creation in the local maritime industry and its ecosystem.

The DNV Maritime Decarbonisation & Autonomy Regional Centre of Excellence in Singapore focuses on maritime digitisation, decarbonisation, and port capabilities to help South-East Asia transition to a smarter, more sustainable future.

Established in 2021 with assistance from the Singapore Economic Development Board, the regional Centre of Excellence provides a knowledge-sharing forum for industry roundtables and seminars to engage all stakeholders on maritime green transition trends such as Marine Battery, Hydrogen/Ammonia fuel, among others. The centre also undertakes joint industry projects and tailor-made consultancy ventures to benefit the sector.

Meanwhile, OpenGov Asia earlier reported that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the leading ports in Europe have collaborated to establish the world’s longest Green and Digital Corridor. Decarbonising shipping is a high goal for the agency combating climate change and requires the collaboration of the whole marine sector.

The collaboration exemplifies how like-minded partners may work together to augment the efforts of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and will serve as a vital platform for piloting innovations that can be scaled up for greener and more global shipping. The MoU will bring together stakeholders from the entire supply chain to launch the route’s first sustainable vessels by 2027.

Indonesia to Boost Digital Space Protection

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During the 21st anniversary celebration of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Minister Johnny G. Plate said that the nation would continue to strengthen its collaboration to boost its digital economy. He encouraged the ministries, institutions, the central and regional governments, and the private sector to confront the digital transformation problems collectively.

The present concern, according to Minister Johnny, is cyberattacks that occur in the digital arena. He explained that readiness must also be balanced with the ability to prevent and contain cyber-attacks. “In various forms and ways, on the network as well as at the endpoints or endpoints to laptops, servers, gadgets and so on, you must have it. For that, we need to work together with the ministry’s institutions to ensure and to maintain that the firewall is well-available.”

He added that cyber-attacks and cyber security must be dealt with appropriately. He remarked that the development and performance of upstream and downstream ICT infrastructure are now being expanded to all societal levels. The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Communication and Informatics is also preparing the construction of a Government Cloud or Government Data Centre.

Regarding attempts to prevent cyber-attacks, the Minister evaluated the significance of bolstering encryption technology, systems, and excellent organisational governance in resolving cyber-attack issues rapidly. In addition, the available human resources have the necessary skills and insights for the new period, the contemporary era of digital transformation.

Minister Johnny remarked that activity in the digital space has been dispersed among numerous industries, departments, and institutions. Therefore, teamwork is essential to the development, protection, operation, and maintenance of the digital realm. Including Kominfo, for example, in the context of or in relation to laws and regulations, how to apply rules in a disciplined and consistent manner in the digital space.

Meanwhile, the exceptional performance of PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) and its achievement in boosting the production of the Rokan Working Area (WK) are backed by the deployment of digital technology and other innovations. PHR is a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned oil business, PT Pertamina (Persero).

PHR has a real-time operational control centre and big data facility that can monitor activities in the field. The establishment of a facility known as the Digital and Innovation Centre (DICE) is critical in facilitating swift and appropriate decision-making.

The DICE facility was launched by Nicke Widyawati, Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto and President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero). This strategic measure, she said, is part of Pertamina’s efforts to achieve reliable operations under the Go Digital initiatives.

This facility is critical for facilitating quick and precise decision-making and, as a result, meeting production targets. DICE was created by combining two PHR digital facilities, the War Room and the Integrated Optimisation Decision Support Centre (IODSC).

The facility has 66 screens that display data and information in the form of a digital dashboard, such as drilling activity monitoring, integrated drilling schedule, construction of oil well facilities, drilling location preparation, and management of production activities and equipment maintenance.

PHR also employs artificial intelligence technology to create automatic good workover schedules, more optimal and efficient rig movement planning, identification of sub-optimal pump performance, oil flow analysis and measurement for optimal production, and remote and integrated monitoring of fluid pressure conditions in oil wells.

Vietnam Ranks 63rd in Global Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems

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Vietnam has ranked 63rd out of 113 global economies in a global ranking of digital environments and support systems for entrepreneurs, according to a new index developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Released earlier, the Global Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems (GIDES) puts Singapore in the first place, followed by the United States and Sweden. In Asia, Indonesia ranked 71st, India ranked 75th, and the Philippines ranked 79th. 17 of the 21 developing Asian economies included are ranked toward the bottom, underscoring the need for these economies to nurture digital entrepreneurship.

Experts have noted that digital entrepreneurship helped economies stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can become a major engine of growth and innovation in the post-pandemic world. For this to happen, there needs to be a supportive environment enabled by conducive policies and incentives. While the environment for Asia’s digital entrepreneurs made substantial strides in the past couple of years, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

The index measures the quality of the environment for digital entrepreneurs by looking at the level of digitalisation in eight areas: culture, institutions, market conditions, infrastructure, human capital, knowledge, finance, and networking.

In addition to investing in digital infrastructure such as broadband networks, governments need to promote political stability, reliable legal systems, open and competitive markets, and strong property rights. For Asia and the Pacific as a whole, the lack of a supportive culture is among the biggest weak spots when it comes to nurturing digital entrepreneurship. For example, there is a general lack of public appreciation for the vital role that entrepreneurs play in economic progress. One way to change this is to improve the public perception of entrepreneurship through education.

In February, MIC proposed to replace the programme ‘Developing the IT and Electronics-Telecoms Industries until 2025’ with the project ‘Strategies to Develop the Digital Technology Industry in Vietnam until 2025’. This was considered a critical change to create sufficiently skilled human resources in the digital technology field, encouraging breakthroughs in the industry, as OpenGov Asia had reported. Under the plan, over the next few years, the Ministry will focus on developing a digital technology business ecosystem and upgrading the quality of human resources in the field. It plans to update and implement the skill standards for digital human resources and maintain the 6-6.5% contribution of digital technology businesses to the GDP.

MIC statistics reveal that in 2021, Vietnam had 64,000 digital technology enterprises (a rise of 5,600 units compared to 2020) and introduced several new made-in-Vietnam ICT products. The revenues of the ICT industry last year reached US$136.2 billion, 13.8% of which belonged to Vietnamese companies (US$18.78 billion). In 2022, MIC aims to increase the total quantity of digital technology businesses in Vietnam to 70,000 and the total revenues in the IT telecoms industry to US$148.5 billion, with an IT revenue growth rate of 9.2% and a state budget contribution of US$3 billion.

The country plans to have 100,000 digital technology firms by 2025 and have at least ten firms compete in global markets. It also wants to have 10 localities with revenues of over US$1 billion from ICT and 10-12 IT zones.

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