Digital twins for managing complex mountain scenarios

The EnvironTwin project has recently been launched. The project assesses complex landscapes using digital replicas of complex environmental scenarios such as a forest, a pasture, a rocky glacier and an agri-voltaic plant. These digital twins go beyond simple modeling and constitute true computer representations of an object or process.

Digital twins are mostly used to track and predict the evolution and life cycle of a physical object. Instead with the EnvironTwin project, the idea is to recreate the complex scenarios typical of mountain environments – systems made even more unpredictable by ongoing climate change and human interactions. To create these twins, the research team will use well-established and advanced technologies such as sensor networks, lidar sensing systems, cloud computing, and sophisticated data modeling and visualization techniques. A series of workshops with other research organizations and companies is scheduled from 2024-2026 to gather input data and needs while promoting the use of digital twins in researching mountain environments.

The four case studies which are emblematic for the alpine sector and already the focus of Eurac Research, will enable the Sensor System Technology LAB and the Environmental Data Platform (EDP) environmental data infrastructure to be enriched. While back in this world, the Center for Sensing Solutions will be able to provide research, public administration, and businesses with a tool for accurate information on the evolutionary state, risks, and possible solutions of particular mountain scenarios, predicting how they can be effectively influenced and managed.

The EnvironTwin project is funded by the ERDF 2021-2027 call for the creation and enhancement of high-quality research infrastructure.