Scottish universities lead digital twin hub for transport

Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow are supporting a £46m initiative researching the use of digital twins to decarbonise the UK’s transport systems.

Funded by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with £26m of investment from 67 partners, the new research hub, called TransiT Hub, is looking at how digital twins can be deployed to understand how transport systems – from road and rail to air and maritime – can be decarbonised. The hub will also work with passenger groups so that transport users can help researchers model human travel behaviour and choices.

TransiT joint director Phil Greening, a professor at Heriot-Watt University, said: “If the UK is to meet its carbon reduction commitments, we have to do our experiments digitally. We need to design the future transport system and optimise the transition to it.”

TransiT joint director David Flynn, a professor at the University of Glasgow, said: “It’s challenging for designers and engineers today to appreciate the perspective of citizens with mobility challenges and what they experience throughout the full journey. If we can create and embed new design principles, we can identify equitable pathways to decarbonisation.”

The collaboration between the universities and industry partners, which include transport operators, regulators, vehicle makers, technology companies and energy suppliers, is believed to be one of the largest transport consortiums of its kind. 
 
Transport minister Mike Kane said: “Digital twinning is a powerful technology that can help us integrate transport networks, improve efficiency and deliver greener transport for all.” 

The digital twins will be used to collect data in real time through sensors connected to road, railway and shipping infrastructure. Data to build the digital twins will come from TransiT’s industry partners, and will include the number and type of vehicles, fuel types, load sizes, and length and frequency of routes.

The data will then be analysed to test and improve different scenarios through a digital twin, which can be used to make changes in the physical world in near real time.

As an example, motorists could reduce carbon emissions if digital road signs are updated with real-time information on the shortest route out of traffic jams. The researchers also plan to use digital twins to test how parts of a future decarbonised transport system would work, such as electric road systems and alternative fuels. 

Feryal Clark, minister for artificial intelligence and digital government, said: “We see a technology future for British people which enriches and improves their lives. The research TransiT will now carry out is a prime example of how we’re supporting cutting-edge innovations to make that vision a reality.”

TransiT will also provide a blueprint for how digital twins could allow other sectors to make transformational change, while allowing policymakers to study the consequences of decisions across a wide range of scenarios.

EPSRC’s executive chair, Charlotte Deane, said: “Digital twins offer an enormous opportunity to decarbonise our transport networks by testing the potential impact of changes more quickly, reducing costs and helping us to design the transport networks we need, when we need them.”