Research and analysis

Towards a digital twin for urban transport

Making real-time transport-related open data through the Urban Observatories' sensor networks to support digital twin development.

Documents

Economic Data Innovation Fund: towards a digital twin for urban transport report and blueprint

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Economic Data Innovation Fund: Urban Observatories sensor report

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Economic Data Innovation Fund: towards a digital twin for urban transport – sensor catalogue executive summary

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Economic Data Innovation Fund: metadata, data models and interoperability summary paper

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Economic Data Innovation Fund: towards a digital twin for urban transport – stakeholder brief

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Details

This report summarises the work undertaken by the Urban Observatories in Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle, on behalf of the Department for Transport, to improve the discoverability, accessibility and quality of transport-related data from their sensor networks.

This project included:

  • a scalable shared data platform for sensor data
  • an agreed standards approach
  • a long list of potential use cases for sensor data
  • detailed use cases on using sensors to collect and visualise black carbon, sensor-informed modelling of low-traffic neighbourhoods and artificial intelligence-based forecasting and simulation in real-time

It provides a blueprint for how this work could be taken forward in other urban areas. It is also an important step forward in the development of an urban transport digital twin to support decarbonisation, levelling up and connectivity agendas.

Published 28 March 2023