Geography in practice: the foundations of a digital twin

Digital twins are data models of places, systems or even a product, bridging the physical and digital domains.

It's a technology in use today across multiple sectors. Geography often lies at the core of these models with many digital twins used to test and explore real-world geographical issues. As the technology develops, considerations around data access, safe and ethical data sharing, standards and interoperability are central to realising the social, environmental and economic benefits offered by a data-enabled ecosystem.

For Ordnance Survey, we recognise that as national mapping service for Great Britain we have a role to play in supporting the integration of geospatial data with digital twins to help drive innovation and market growth, as well as help improve infrastructure management and understanding of risks.

Join us as we explore what makes a digital twin, the challenges and opportunities they present, and examine case studies which demonstrate how data and technologies are used to simulate and accurately represent the real world, transforming industry and government, providing deeper insights and enabling proactive decision-making.

This presentation will discuss the purpose of the National Digital Twin Programme and the principles by which it is set up. It will discuss the work it has undertaken to date, including the application of outputs in the demonstrator programme, the collaborations in place with other organisations, and how the programme will develop in the future if further funding is secured.

About the speakers

Jeremy Morley has been Chief Geospatial Scientist at Ordnance Survey since 2015. At OS he leads the Research team, focusing on commissioning, planning and executing research projects with universities, promoting active knowledge transfer and horizon scanning to identify new business opportunities and emerging research.

Previously he was an academic at University College London, where he is currently an Honorary Professor, and the University of Nottingham.

According to Jeremy, "digital twins are much talked about at present but the term is not always well defined. I will explain the basics of a digital twin and particularly those aspects which set a digital twin apart from the computer models of the world which have been developed for decades. 

"From this foundation I will discuss the implications, opportunities and complexities which digital twins offer for understanding the systems of our world."

Alexandra Luck is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and a Member of the Register of Security Engineers and Specialists.

She has a wealth of experience in issues pertaining to asset and risk management, digital engineering, management of information and security-minded approaches.

Accumulating expertise through a number of engineering roles, Alexandra specialises in the development, implementation, management and auditing of polices and processes as well as the development and delivery of programmes within these disciplines.

She is currently Programme Director of the National Digital Twin Programme.

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