NORD Debuts Digital Twin for Robotics Simulation
Drive technology company NORD has launched a new digital twin simulation platform designed for robotics. The platform allows for the early verification of drive concepts and has potential applications in urban systems engineering for optimizing infrastructure and resource management.
- The underlying simulation technology is finding broad application in Dutch urban planning, with cities like Utrecht using digital twins to model everything from underground infrastructure to new housing developments, aiming for 30% faster decision-making on infrastructure projects. - The Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) actively fosters a national "NL Digital Twin" community, collaborating with organizations like Geonovum to help municipalities adopt this technology for major challenges in housing, climate adaptation, and the energy transition. - In the Brainport Eindhoven region, a digital twin is being used to plan for the construction of 62,000 new homes by 2040, allowing policymakers to simulate the impact of housing scenarios on traffic, air quality, and noise levels. - The technology is a key enabler for the circular economy in the Dutch construction sector; TU Delft is actively researching how digital twins and Building Information Models (BIM) can create "material passports," which are crucial for the reuse of building materials. - The LOKET project, part of a research program for the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, is developing a digital twin for the Innovation Quarter in Den Bosch to visualize material flows and calculate CO2 emissions from construction logistics. - These initiatives align with the European Green Deal, which leverages digital twins for urban planning and to meet climate goals, such as the EU's aim to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030 with greater energy efficiency. - There is a push for a federated national digital twin for the physical living environment (nDTFL) in the Netherlands, envisioned as a public tool to integrate data from various sectors and support decision-making on complex spatial challenges. - The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is investing €7 million in a research program titled "Digital Twinning- Actual and accurate models for insight, optimalisation, and decision-making" to foster the development and application of this technology across various societal domains.
