Bentley Incorporated : First digital twin of a country

Singapore has become the first country to have its own digital twin. Picture Adobe Stock

Work has been completed on what is said to be the first digital twin of a whole country, with Bentley Systems tools helping to create a digital twin of Singapore.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which manages land use on the densely populated island nation, found that, with above ground and below ground buildings and infrastructure growing and overlapping, 2D maps could not convey accurate GIS information.

GPS Lands Singapore approached SLA with the proposal to develop the Singapore Digital Twin. Mapping teams used aircraft with laser-scanning capabilities to capture digital terrain and surface data.

Vehicle-mounted laser scans supplemented the aerial imagery with street-level data to greatly improve map detail. GPS Lands Singapore then assisted to combine all data sets into a single platform, allowing users to view and verify the information.

The digital twin now displays all parts of Singapore in highly detailed 3D representations. The full map is now exported and shared with various government agencies to help with asset management and decision-making, including detailed tree and green space management.

GPS Lands Singapore imported all point cloud data and panoramic images into its Singapore Digital Twin platform using Orbit 3DM Content Manager. The application allowed the mapping team to verify large-scale data sets to detect and resolve any mismatched data.

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