Digital twins promise to be a key enabler as the construction industry races to catch up with demand for new facilities and new layouts in the wake of COVID-19. Use of such technology, which creates a digital representation of real-world systems and components, is important for an industry seen as slow to adopt digital technology relative to others.

Construction is a complex undertaking, with legacy processes that span regulators, architects, contractors, and building owners. Digital transformation requires finding ways to bridge these divides — not just within elements of each participant’s domain, but also between them.

Still, practical benefits will come from harmonizing the way different groups create and manage data, according to John Turner, vice president of innovative solutions at Gafcon, a digital twin systems integrator.

Growing demand, increased complexity, and more sophisticated design authoring tools will drive the change, according to Rich Humphrey, vice president of construction at infrastructure software maker Bentley Systems. He estimates that the construction software market is currently upwards of $10 billion and could grow significantly thanks to the adoption of digital twins. “The industry is already seeing value in managing risk, reducing rework, and driving efficiencies in the way they deliver projects using digital twins,” Humphrey told VentureBeat.

Change could be far-reaching in an industry that represents one of the largest asset classes in the world.

“There are more than 4 billion buildings in the world today, which is twice as many as websites are online,” said RJ Pittman, CEO of Matterport, a reality capture service for buildings. The rush is on, not only to build more efficiently, but also to increase the value of existing buildings, which today represent a $230 trillion asset class.

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