Digital twin

A digital twin is a dynamic digital representation of a physical asset, system or environment, defined by being connected to its physical counterpart. In the built environment it is typically not a static model but a live, data-connected representation that reflects the asset's current condition and behaviour.

That connection is what separates it from a BIM model and from an asset information model. BIM is the project-phase, largely static information model; the AIM is the operational information set; a digital twin goes beyond the AIM by adding live operational data, behaviour and feedback loops. Put simply: BIM and the AIM provide the structured information base, and the digital twin adds continuous synchronization with the physical asset through data streams.

Across the lifecycle a digital twin is used for monitoring near-real-time state, simulating scenarios, and predicting or optimising performance, commonly ingesting data from IoT sensors and building-automation systems — useful for facility management, performance analysis and maintenance. On standards, ISO 23247 is the ISO digital-twin framework (published for manufacturing, but its core idea — a synchronized digital representation of a physical counterpart — carries over), while in the built environment the Gemini Principles from the UK Centre for Digital Built Britain set out foundational principles for digital twins and a national digital-twin ecosystem. In Italian it is the gemello digitale.