Digital Twins - HackMD

--- title: Digital twin part_of_speech: noun category: technology tags: - simulation - IoT - smart cities - energy systems - AI integration related_terms: - positive energy district - semantic interoperability - smart grid summary: > A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world system or object that mirrors its behavior through continuous data exchange, enabling simulation, analysis, and optimization. contributors: - Edoardo Pristeri (LINKS Foundation) - Antti Knutas (LUT University) source: "Transcript from 'Tips for PED Podcasts on Digital Twins'" license: CC BY-SA 4.0 --- # Digital Twins contributors: Antti Knutas (LUT University), Majad Qureshi ( LUT University) interviewee: Edoardo Pristeri (LINKS Foundation) data sources : "Transcript from 'Tips for PED Podcasts on Digital Twins'" date : 7 Nov 2025 ## Overview > A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real system that continuously exchanges data with its physical counterpart. As explained in the interview, modern digital twins act as a bridge between the physical world and virtual models, enabling real-time data flow, simulation, and decision support across many domains, from autonomous systems to energy infrastructure. In practice, this means users can enter a virtual environment, modify parameters, and immediately see the expected effects in a simulated version of the real system. For example, a planner can test how electrifying a public transport line affects the energy balance of a district before implementing it in reality. Thanks to interoperability layers, digital twins can combine diverse data sources and modules, integrating multiple subsystems into a unified whole. Digital twins can also be hierarchical. Large-scale district-level models can interact with smaller twins of household appliances or individual electric vehicles. End-users may not see this complexity directly, but digital-twin-driven automation and optimization will increasingly operate in the background of everyday energy use, from smart-home interactions to negotiating electricity contracts. ## Podcast on digital twins Eduardo Priestery is a researcher from the LINKS foundation, focused on connected autonomous systems. His work spans various fields, including cybersecurity, perception, data management, distributed intelligence, and decision sciences.He is interviewed by Prof Antti Knutas from LUT. <div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <iframe src="https://1drv.ms/v/c/f9cc6a7b5ef5d217/IQRrtCIBLJs6QKukI6ypMTrOAWHDl1sXOVPtLcx2E2Drwuk" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: none;" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen title="12_Edoardo Pristeri_of_LINKS_withsub.mp4"> </iframe> </div> ## Digital twins in energy transitions Digital twins support the development of positive energy districts (PEDs) by reducing the time, cost, and uncertainty of planning and managing energy systems. In the feasibility phase of PED design, they allow rapid assessment of how changes—such as mobility electrification or local generation—affect the broader district ecosystem. Their ability to integrate multiple subsystems makes them particularly suited to the interconnected nature of PEDs, where transport, buildings, grids, and citizen behaviors influence one another. As digital twins become more widespread and interoperable, they will also enhance energy citizenship. Individuals may interact with complex energy systems—even unknowingly—through natural-language interfaces powered by large language models, enabling more accessible participation in energy decisions. Ultimately, digital twins help advance the energy transition by enabling smarter planning, empowering users, and unlocking the value of the data already produced by modern appliances and infrastructures. ## Digital twins as technology Digital twins function by continuously linking physical systems with virtual models through real-time data exchange. Their rapid growth is driven by the increasing availability of digital data from modern appliances, sensors, connected vehicles, and smart infrastructure—combined with advances in data management, distributed intelligence, and semantic interoperability. As noted in the interview, digital twins become especially powerful when multiple subsystems can exchange data seamlessly, enabling integrated simulations rather than isolated models. This interoperability, together with emerging interfaces powered by large language models, is making digital twins more accessible, usable, and valuable across sectors. A practical example highlighted in the discussion is the use of digital twins in the feasibility phase of positive energy district planning. In the TIPS4PED project, planners can experiment in a virtual space—such as testing the electrification of a public transport line—and immediately see its effects on district energy consumption and production. This reduces planning time and cost while improving decision accuracy. As these tools evolve, even everyday household activities like vehicle charging or negotiating energy contracts may be quietly optimized through small-scale digital twins interconnected within larger district-level systems. ## Impact of digital twins Digital twins are expected to influence urban planning, energy management, and everyday operations by enabling faster, more informed decisions across interconnected systems. For cities, they offer the ability to test policies or infrastructure changes virtually.For example transport electrification or building energy upgrades—before implementing them, reducing risks and optimizing resource use. For the environment, their capacity to simulate entire positive energy districts supports the shift toward low carbon solutions by identifying the most effective pathways to reduce emissions and enhance local renewable production. As the interview highlights, digital twins will increasingly underpin the “daily fabric” of energy production and consumption, even if the complexity remains hidden from end users. For professionals and citizens, preparing for this transformation involves understanding the role of data as the key enabler of digital twins. The interview emphasizes that although modern devices already generate valuable data, access and interoperability remain challenges. Engaging with open data initiatives, developing digital literacy, and participating in pilot projects, such as those in the TIPS4PED project are practical ways to get involved. As digital twins become more widespread, skills in data management, systems thinking, and human AI interaction will become increasingly important for those working in urban development, energy systems, and related fields. ## Digital twins in future The next major development in digital twins will be their integration with large language models, which will act as intuitive human machine interfaces for interacting with complex systems. As digital twins expose vast amounts of data and represent intricate energy, mobility, and urban infrastructures, natural language interaction will make them accessible to non experts and allow everyday users to control or query systems through simple voice or text commands. This evolution will blend digital twins into daily life, supporting smart homes, connected cars, and local energy management while remaining largely invisible to users. Over time, digital twins are expected to become more interoperable, and increasingly capable due to improved data availability and automated reasoning layers. ## Summary Digital twins are emerging as a foundational technology for planning and operating positive energy districts, enabling seamless interaction between available data and virtual models to support smarter, faster, and more sustainable decisions. A key takeaway is that *“the main enabler for digital twins at the moment is data and being able to access it,”* highlighting the growing importance of interoperability and open data in the energy transition. ## Further reading Follow up our [TIPS4PED project site and news](https://tips4ped.eu/) to learn more. --- *Source: Adapted from the "Tips for PED" podcast series, featuring insights from Mr. Edoardo Pristeri, researcher at LINKS foundation. ---