EU-funded Project to Develop Digital Twin of Pilsen

A precise 3D computer model or ‘digital twin’ is being created of Pilsen (‘Plzen’), a mid-sized city with a strong brewing heritage and a population of around 165,000 in the Czech Republic. The partly EU-funded DUET project, aimed at boosting major events and tourism in the area, is expected to take three years.

Digital Urban European Twins

According to Veronika Cholinská speaking on behalf of the city of Pilsen's IT department, the digital 3D city model will serve a variety of purposes. For example, the city expects to use the 3D model in spatial planning to visualize and assess the impact of potential new buildings on their surroundings. Additionally, the digital twin could be used in event planning to anticipate crisis situations by simulating the evacuation of crowds. Moreover, the 3D model of the historic city centre could be of great benefit to the city’s online tourism promotion activities.

Besides Pilsen, the Digital Urban European Twins (DUET) project includes Athens and the Belgian region of Flanders. DUET describes itself as a brand-new innovation initiative which leverages the advanced capabilities of cloud and high-performance computing (HPC), in the form of digital twins, to help public-sector decision-making become more democratic and effective. As a cooperative endeavour, involving 15 different partners from across Europe, it is always on the lookout for new collaboration opportunities. Pilsen is reported to be receiving around €150,000 in EU funding, which is equivalent to roughly half the cost of the project. The city is paying the rest itself.