On 18th January 2024, URBANAGE coordinator Roberto Di Bernardo and his colleague Giuseppe Ciulla participated in the Big Data Value Association online event where they were given the opportunity to showcase the work done by the URBANAGE project. The event was an internal meeting for all the members of the Big Data Value Association to keep them aligned on new projects and/or results from ongoing project. The day opened with introductions allowing members to get to know each other better. Introductions were followed by an engaging session from Roberto and Giuseppe named “Digital Twins and Cities” and URBANAGE was used as an example when explaining disruptive technologies for decision-making in the field of urban planning for age friendly cities.
Digital twins are virtual versions of physical items, systems, or processes. These virtual equivalents are built by combining data from sensors, and various other sources, to replicate the real-world entities they represent. Digital twins are utilised across a variety of sectors and applications to monitor, analyse, and optimise the performance of their physical counterparts over their entire lifecycle. When it comes to cities, digital twins are revolutionary as cities can leverage this technology and use evidence-based planning to meet citizen demands and social concerns. The focus of URBANAGE is to understand how cities can be made more accessible for aging populations, particularly how Digital Twins can aid planning which leads to more age-friendly cities. By using Digital Twins to aid city planning, more efficient and cost-effective planning decisions can be made. Furthermore, Digital Twins in cities can help play a vital role in influencing government policy thus ensuring that target groups, such as the elderly, can receive maximum benefit from planning decisions and government investment.
The Big Data Value ecosystem Project (BDVe) provides coordination and support for the EU funded H2020 projects within the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership. BDVe works directly with numerous stakeholders, both inside and outside the PPP, to foster a true vibrant community around Big Data in Europe. The BDVe also assists common bodies in discovering and exploiting synergies at the project management level, jointly contributing to the generation of a complete Big Data Value Reference Model at the technical level and multiplying impact into the various targets at the communication level. The topic of Digital Twins is a large, yet fundamental topic for the BDVA community as it encompasses many technologies and processes that BDVA members deal with. The event highlighted the URBANAGE initiative's expertise and variety, and also promoted the URBANAGE solution among thought leaders, innovators, and other members of the BDVA community.
