From concrete to community: How synthetic data can make urban digital twins more humane

From concrete to community: How synthetic data can make urban digital twins more humane

When city leaders talk about making a town "smart," they're usually talking about urban digital twins. These are essentially high-tech, 3D computer models of cities. They are filled with data about buildings, roads and utilities. Built using precision tools like cameras and LiDAR—light detection and ranging—scanners, these twins are great at showing what a city looks like physically.

From concrete to community: How synthetic data can make urban digital twins more humane

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From concrete to community: How synthetic data can make urban digital twins more humane

How people behave is a critical element of how cities function. Ahmed Deeb/picture alliance via Getty ImagesWhen city leaders talk about making a town “smart,” they’re usually talking about urban digital twins. These are essentially high-tech, 3D computer models of cities. They are filled with data about buildings, roads and utilities. Built using precision tools like cameras and LiDAR – light detection and ranging – scanners, these twins are gr…

How synthetic data can make urban digital twins more humane

When city leaders talk about making a town “smart,” they’re usually talking about urban digital twins. These are essentially high-tech, 3D computer models of cities. They are filled with data about buildings, roads and utilities. Built using precision tools like cameras and LiDAR – light detection and ranging – scanners, these twins are great at showing what a city looks like physically. But in their rush to map the concrete, researchers, softwa…