The design and operation of buildings generates and collects a wide range of information that is often underutilised. However, modern technologies make it possible to integrate this data – building geometry, energy consumption, microclimate and other real-time data – and use it throughout the life cycle of buildings. This is being done through the development of so-called digital twins of buildings.
Researchers from the KTU Faculty of Civile Engineering and Architecture, who are working on this relatively new technology, invite students, professionals and enthusiasts to a hackathon to generate a wide range of ideas for the application of digital twins. The first phase of the event will start on 4 November.
“Our focus is on buildings and infrastructure. The event is designed to generate creative ideas and prototypes for building digital twins, exploring the applications, functionality, safety and user-friendliness of this technology. Although this may seem like a very specific and complex process, we will make sure that all teams understand the basics and can unleash their creativity,” said Andrius Jurelionis, Dean of KTU SAF, adding that the jury will distribute a total prize fund of EUR 4,500 for the best ideas and their implementation.
The organisers note that the event is open to students, researchers and professionals working in the fields of civil engineering, information technology, architecture, automation, energy and environmental engineering, as well as to all others interested in smart city technologies and idea generation. Participants will work in teams of 3-6 members. Participants can register in teams or individually (in which case they will be matched by the organisers).
Zeljko Djuretic, Head of Academic Programmes at Bentley Systems, will share his knowledge with the participants, coming to the event from the Netherlands. Sandip Jadhav, co-founder of CCTech in India, will interact with the participants remotely and share his experience of working with digital twin technologies.
A team of ten mentors from different business and higher education sectors will also be on hand. They will help participants to develop their idea and find the best solutions.
“We have assembled a really great team of mentors. You will find here representatives of leading construction companies and start-ups. Our KTU Centre for Smart Cities and Infrastructure team has also willingly joined us. It is important that the participants have the courage to generate ideas and take advantage of the mentors’ help,” said Jurelionis.
The organisers reveal that the participants will be provided with a model of a real building and real building performance data, which they can use to develop and prototype their ideas. For this KTU initiative, the university team was ranked among the top 3 projects in the Facilities, Campuses, & Cities category in the international competition “Going Digital 2022” organised by Bentley Systems.
The Building Digital Twin Hackathon will take place in two phases. In the first phase (4 and 5 November), participants will focus on learning more about digital twins and exploring ideas for their use, then try to implement their ideas on their own and present their prototypes to the jury on 2 December. Participants’ achievements in both phases will be judged separately.
For more information on the event: https://saf.ktu.edu/digitwin/
