Have you ever introduced a change in your work environment that brought catastrophic results? If you have then you can understand how irritating and damaging it can be. If you have not then you are lucky but it is better to not have such an experience. Digital twins were invented to avoid such catastrophes and they have served their purpose well. Not sure what are digital twins are and how they can have an impact on the real estate industry? Read till the end and find out all the answers.

What are digital twins?

Digital twins are digital copies of a physical asset. It is a dynamic model that is used to simulate the working and the response of an asset in any environment. What this essentially means is that you can replicate the working of a real-life asset by feeding it data from sensors. For example: you can replicate your house into a digital copy to monitor the wear and tear and the consumption of energy. To do this you would need some sensors that would collect the data and feed it to the system.

The digital twin system is able to replicate the environment completely and respond as that element would in real life. This is made possible by the analysis of large amounts of data that is received via the sensors. The model is able to adapt and respond according to the changes in the environment and that is made possible by using Artificial Intelligence. You can also dynamically re calibrate the environment depending upon the changes that are taking place.

Well, this is all good on paper but how can you benefit from it? Instead of introducing changes directly in your environment and hoping for everything to go okay, you can implement it in the digital twin. Then you can assess how the system responds and after testing and analysis, you can apply the best parameters to your real time environment. This not only reduces risks of failure but also brings down the overall cost. Using these systems can ensure that you have a much safer environment. For example: Instead of taking an airplane inside a thunderstorm just to test how strong winds it can handle, we can replicate the same environment digitally. This way, we would not have to risk the life of the crew and the equipment and we can perform the same tests over and over again in a virtual environment. Then after receiving the results from the simulated environment, we can apply the best parameters in real-life environment and achieve our goals with lower risk rates.

Why are digital twins used?

The digital twins help us immensely in the following ways:

• Model

We can completely model our real-life environment into a digital foot print. This way we can exactly replicate our real time environment digitally to help us better understand the environment. For example: We can model our house or a business building or any asset that we have exactly the way it is in real life.

• Simulate

Instead of performing real life changes and tests, we can simulate the same changes in our virtual environment and analyze how the system would respond in that particular environment. Then the data gathered from those simulations can be analyzed and better solutions can be sorted out to be implemented in real life environments later on. For example: buildings that house machines that run constantly have extensive cooling systems that run on a set temperature. If any change occurs in the temperature of the room, it can affect the performance and productivity of the machines. To find out the best optimum temperature on addition of a few more machines, we would need to play with the temperature in real life. It can have bad effects on the machines. However, we can simulate the same changes in our digital twin model and find out the best temperature. Later that information can be used in real-life environments.

• Understand

The data from the tests and simulations conducted can be used to properly understand the limits and constraints of our system. By identifying how the system would respond when subjected to a certain environment, would help the analyzers curate the best solutions. This can help in reducing costs on Research and Development and build better, sustainable models.

• Predict

Nowadays, data plays a crucial role in everything. As the systems are based on Artificial Intelligence, they would highly benefit from all the data available to them. This is crucial as that data is then used to predict how a certain thing/ element when subjected to a certain change. Just like humans have built knowledge on the basis of experiments and the data obtained from them, these systems are also data hungry. The more the data available to them, the better they would be able to predict. This is especially important for these systems because that prediction then tells the systems how to act when a certain thing happens or change occurs.

• Optimize

Based on the predictions made by the system, it curates an action to take. After taking the action, results are gathered and analyzed as to how the environment reacted to that action. It is equally important as depending on the best-case scenario, the system is then optimized. These parameters are later on used in real time environments to gain the best outputs.

All of these aspects belong to real life assets and utilizing them in our systems helps us to build effective and sound solutions.

Where are digital twins used?

The digital twins are used in the following areas:

• Manufacturing
• Automotive
• Construction
• Utilities
• Healthcare

How digital twins can be used in the real estate industry?

If you live or have ever lived in an apartment, you will notice that whenever a problem arises, it takes a lot of time to trace the problem and then to fix it. It takes even more time for people who live in rented properties as the property owner has to identify the problem and get it fixed himself. It may be possible that multiple properties are facing issues at the same time. In such situations, it can take much longer and the tenants have to bear until the issue is resolved. While if you are the owner, you can understand how frustrating it can get to sort out issues taking place at multiple properties at a time. Thus, digital twins can really save you from all the hassle and put an end to the miseries of the tenants in much less time.

How is that possible you ask? Well, it is very simple. You can map all of your properties and analyze them extensively with the help of Internet Of Things (IOT) devices and sensors. These devices can help you in mapping the digital twins in exactly the same conditions as your real-life properties are in at any given moment. The access to real time data makes sure that your digital twin is in the same conditions as the real property it is cloning. The technology has improved so much over the past couple of years that you can monitor all the different environment variables such as heat, humidity etc. to name a few.

The data is easily accessible as the data storage is cloud based meaning it is available to you all the time as long as you are connected to the internet. You can use this data to monitor and assess real time changes in the property as well as changes that can happen in the future. What this essentially means is that by gathering and analyzing all the data, the system can make future predictions about what can happen in the future while also tracking all the changes that are happening on the go.

Benefits of digital twins in the real estate industry

• Since the data is available all the time it is easy to track all the changes. This leads to quick decision making on the property owner’s part as he gets aware of the problem much quicker. This can really make their lives easy specially for those who own multiple properties.
• As the decision making becomes significantly faster and easier, it also makes the lives of the tenants much easier. This essentially leads to a better living experience and higher customer satisfaction. If the property owner is quick in solving problems of the tenants, people are more likely to rent such properties rather than going for cheaper ones that lack this.
• If you are unaware of the problem, you will problem tackle it by solving whatever comes to your mind first. For example: if your fan stops working, you will check the fan first, then the flow of electricity towards the fan, then the wiring and so on. Similarly, you will resort to the same technique if your property lacks digital twins. This will not only consume a lot of time but also your budget as each person who comes to check the problem will charge a fee. However, in case of a digital twin, you can identify the problem by logging on to the system. It will point out the area of problem for you, which will not only make the repairing part easy but also save a ton of money.
• It is never a good thing to wait out on repairs until something breaks and causes issues. In a normal scenario, you can never really tell when anything will break or stop working. However, the prediction feature in digital twins tells you about things you need to repair or replace before a fault occurs. Since, a lot of components are interdependent and work in harmony, they can increase the damage if not dealt with at the right time. For example: if a water pipe bursts, it is going to affect the walls and the ceiling as well and it is going to be an expensive repair. Not anymore with digital twins. They have the ability to identify the things you need to address before something happens using AI.
• You can also keep an eye on the carbon footprint of your properties by monitoring them from the system. This is one of the best features as you can analyze and then minimize the environmental effect by using the data you can collect. This can range from assessing carbon footprint to managing the use of energy etc.

Challenges that come with digital twins

All of the features discussed above amount to a night and day difference between the properties that utilize digital twins and those that don’t. All there are many benefits to using digital twins, there are certain challenges that come with them as well.

• These systems are not easy to build. It is a fairly complex job especially if you have a large property or one that is designed a bit creatively.
• This is also reflected in design phase since you have to keep and maintain multiple CAD files to get the proper representation of your property. This can be a fairly tedious task as well.
• If not done correctly, the model can miss align from the actual physical asset. This can be a problem because then, the system would not be able to give an accurate representation of the asset. Rather than introducing ease, poorly built systems can potentially add more problems because of in accurate data.
• The models need to be kept up to date. This is an important aspect to take care of. This can also affect the performance of the system if it is not up to date according to the asset it is based on.

The whole purpose of the system is to provide accurate data timely, to increase the life of the property by taking well informed decisions timely. However, if the system is not built accurately or is not kept up to date, it can affect the performance and provide you with inaccurate data and predictions. Since the system is dependent on data, it affects everything. Thus you need to make sure that everything is done correctly.

Bodla Group and their role in Pakistani Real Estate Industry

Among many players in the construction industry, Bodla Group have set a place for themselves by providing quality work accessible to the masses. Not only have we snagged a good reputation in DHA Multan by completing various projects such as DHA Villas, we also have a few other jewels in our hat.  

Be it the renovation of old homes, construction of new ones, construction of roads, malls etc. we can do it all. Bodla Group sets a new example in Pakistan’s construction industry by presenting 5.2 marla homes in phase 5 of DHA Multan. These homes provide you with all the facilities you need and more. A spacious porch, big kitchen, roof top BBQ area etc. are incorporated in the new Bodla Homes to elevate your living standard. Book yours now and grab a chance at improving your living standard.