1. Introduction
The Interoperability Blueprint provides business, organisational, and technical guidelines for building our own Local Digital Twin (LDT) and interconnecting with other LDTs. An LDT is a digital representation of physical assets, systems, or processes in a defined local context (for example, city, district, building, industry, port, and airport). LDTs are based on structured data models and contextualised data. They leverage either historical data, near real-time data, or real-time data, and they enable visualisation, analysis, simulation, and reasoning services that support decision-making. First, we will elaborate on why LDTs can be useful, followed by a high-level overview of an LDT. Next, we will explain the importance of being able to add new components to an LDT (Section 1.3) and discover existing components that can be added to an LDT (Section 1.4). Finally, we will discuss how this blueprint aligns with Minimum Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) Plus (Section 1.5) and how data spaces and LDTs are related (Section 1.6). The remainder of this deliverable is structured as follows:
-
Chapter 2: The business and organisational building blocks and the technical building blocks.
-
Chapter 3: The workflows an LDT should support.
-
Chapter 4: The technical architecture and the business and organisational overview.
-
Chapter 5: How the business and organisational architecture and technical architecture support the workflows.
-
Chapter 6: How to build an LDT based on the other chapters.
Although this blueprint mainly guides us through the process of building a new LDT with the focus on interoperability, we can also use its recommendations for updating an existing LDT and interlinking LDTs. The scope of the blueprint isn’t to offer guidelines for every use case in which an LDT is being built or has been built, as every LDT operates in a very specific context.
1.1. Why use an LDT
An LDT is a virtual replica of a territory based on structured data models, real-time data feeds, and potentially 3D representations, which can integrate simulation models (flows, usage, impacts, and so on). It aims to dynamically represent the territory at various spatial and temporal scales to analyse, understand, anticipate, and simulate the effects of public policies, environmental hazards, climate change, development projects or disruptions. The digital twin supports strategic decision-making, consultation, foresight, and scenario design. It can even include automated decision-making and execution. It can incorporate historical datasets, time-delayed data, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and/or specific models (mobility, climate, energy, and so on). LDTs can offer the following capabilities to users:
-
Descriptive: Current (and past) state of the real-world asset - static and dynamic. Bidirectional connection between real-world assets and the LDT.
-
Predictive: Extends the descriptive capability by providing predictions on the way the real asset could evolve in the future, using predictive models to envision possible futures.
-
Prospective: Conducts "what-if" analyses to evaluate the potential consequences of actions.
-
Prescriptive: Extends (or, in extreme cases, executes) the prospective capability with suggested actions on the real system to achieve a given objective based on the analysis.
-
Diagnostic: Explains situations or alerts about deviations from expected conditions. Capability for evaluating what happened, especially in the case of a malfunction of the real asset.
Note that we do not derive this definition of an LDT from a formal international standard. Instead, it is a project-specific conceptualisation influenced by existing frameworks such as Digital Twins, the EU LDT Toolbox, MIMs Plus 8 on Local Digital Twins, Smart City models, and Data Spaces. While relevant standards (for example, ISO 23247, ISO/IEC 30182, and ISO 30173) provide partial guidance, there is currently no universally accepted standard definition for LDTs in the context of urban or territorial systems.
1.2. High-level overview of an LDT
An LDT has three levels, Base, Core, and Surface (see Figure 1), representing a logical data pipeline from raw data ingestion to end-user interaction, as proposed in Deliverable 3.8:
-
LDT Base contains the foundational connection to the territory through sensor data (for example, IoT), modelled assets (for example, BIM), other external information (for example, socio-economic data or from external systems) and potentially even actuators such as APIs. This level uses the component Data Sources.
-
LDT Core contains the technical components that enable data exchange, contextualisation, and transformation into usable digital representations. This level uses the components Data Acquisition, Data Management, and Connectivity.
-
LDT Surface contains the analysis components, visualisations, and supporting human-interaction tools for decision-making within a service. This level uses the components Connectivity, Analysis, Visualisations, and Decision-Making.
We describe each component below:
-
Data Sources (grey) comprise the sources of information describing the territory, including physical sensors, administrative systems, external datasets, and modelling frameworks such as BIM or simulation models. These sources include those accessible through (local) data spaces. A data space is an interoperable framework for data exchange, based on common governance principles, standards, practices and enabling services, that enables trusted data transactions between participants.
-
Data Acquisition (green) collects data from sources (arrows 1a and 1b in Figure 1) and prepares it for use through ingestion pipelines, syntactic transformations, quality checks, buffering, and staging mechanisms, ensuring data is available, reliable, and ready for contextualisation.
-
Connectivity (orange) enables secure and interoperable data exchange across components and LDTs through interfaces, connectors, access control mechanisms, and federation services that support controlled sharing and discovery.
-
Data Management (purple) manages the representation, linking, and persistence of contextual information coming from the Data acquisition component (arrow 2 in Figure 1) through ontologies, data models, and data management services that support semantic alignment and the storage of historical or evolving states.
-
Analysis (yellow) provides analytical, simulation, and AI capabilities that augment data coming from the Data Management component (arrow 3 in Figure 1). These augmentations include insights, predictions, and inferences, including algorithms for pattern detection, forecasting, optimisation, and decision support.
-
Visualisations (blue) provide dashboards, spatial and temporal views, and interactive interfaces that enable end-users to explore, interpret, and interact with he outputs of services and analyses within an LDT (arrows 4 and 6a in Figure 1).
-
Decision-Making (red) provides supporting tools for planning, participation channels, and notifications (arrows 5 and 6b in Figure 1).
A Service is not a standalone component itself, but consists of a logical composition of the analysis, visualisations, and decision-making tools. A single service may include multiple visualisations, while individual components (for example, visualisations or analysis modules) can be reused across multiple services. A Service represents a higher-level abstraction that delivers value to end-users by orchestrating multiple underlying components.
1.3. Adding a new Surface-level component to an existing LDT, reusing Core and Base-level components
Once we have built an LDT, it’s important that we can still add new Surface-level components (SLCs) to ensure that new needs, coming from new and updated use cases, can be fulfilled (see Figure 2). While adding new SLCs, we want to
-
keep the LDT’s architecture/design as is,
-
keep support for existing components, if desirable,
-
limit the changes to these existing components, and
-
limit the effects on other components if existing components need to be replaced.
Each SLC might have specific requirements regarding different aspects, including, but not limited to
-
data models,
-
data exchange types,
-
provenance, traceability, and observability,
-
access and usage policies,
-
which party deploys and maintains the component, and
-
regulatory compliance.
Our LDT might not meet these requirements out of the box, but the LDT’s design should limit the necessary changes to business, organisational, and technical aspects to fulfil these requirements. Some examples of new SLCs are
-
energy consumption prediction of buildings,
-
air pollution and urban heat island maps, and
-
traffic congestion or flooding prediction and corresponding impact analysis.
1.4. Discovering which Surface-level components work on which existing LDTs and exchanging components through interconnected LDTs
While § 1.3 Adding a new Surface-level component to an existing LDT, reusing Core and Base-level components focuses on integrating a selected Surface-level component (SLC) into an existing LDT, interoperability should also support an earlier step: identifying which SLCs are suitable candidates in the first place. As increasing numbers of SLCs are developed by cities, service providers, and research initiatives, ideally, LDTs should be able to discover which of these components are compatible with their existing Base and Core-level components, and what adaptations would be required where full compatibility is not available (see Figure 3).
This is important because testing and deploying a new SLC can be costly in terms of time, effort, and governance. Before starting integration work, an LDT should therefore be able to assess whether a candidate SLC is likely to work with its available data, interfaces, policies, and organisational conditions. Such an assessment may consider, for example, the data models used, supported data exchange types, provenance and observability requirements, access and usage policies, and deployment responsibilities. Rather than repeating the full integration process for every candidate, the LDT should be able to compare its existing capabilities with the requirements published by the SLC and determine whether the component is
-
compatible out of the box,
-
compatible with limited adaptations, or
-
not currently compatible.
This discoverability is especially valuable in interconnected LDT ecosystems, where components developed in one context may be reused in another. For example, air pollution or urban heat island visualisations developed for one city could be reused by other cities if those LDTs can determine that the required data and interfaces are available. Similarly, AI models for traffic congestion prediction and impact analysis may be useful beyond the city in which they were originally developed, provided that other LDTs can assess whether their data, policies, and deployment conditions are sufficient to support them.
At the same time, discoverability is not only beneficial for city-to-city reuse. It can also support the emergence of an ecosystem in which external service providers offer new capabilities to existing LDTs. If an LDT describes the requirements, interfaces, and policies of SLCs in a consistent and machine-readable way, providers can develop reusable components that are easier to adopt across multiple LDTs. Additionally, LDT operators can more easily identify which offerings match their needs and constraints. In this way, interoperability helps create the conditions for a broader market of reusable LDT services and components, reducing duplication of effort and accelerating innovation.
By enabling this kind of discovery and compatibility assessment, the LDT reduces the cost and uncertainty of experimentation, supports both public-sector reuse and market-based innovation, and strengthens interoperability across interconnected LDTs.
1.5. Alignment with MIMs Plus
The MIMs Plus emerged as part of the Living-in.EU movement to enable a minimal but sufficient level of interoperability of data, systems, and services, particularly in the context of smart city solutions. By facilitating this minimum level, MIMs Plus contributes to the development of a coherent global market and collaboration focused on solutions, services, and data. They are not closed standards, but evolving recommendations, co-developed with local and regional authorities and interested stakeholders, and aligned with European frameworks.
Each of the 9 MIMs identifies an area in which interoperable mechanisms need to be put in place. At the time of publication of this deliverable, the MIMs Plus' framework is at version 8 and distinguishes between two main categories: foundational MIMs, which provide essential functionality for data interoperability within a city’s data ecosystem; application-specific MIMs, which will enhance the functionality of the data ecosystem by introducing interoperability in specific application areas. For this deliverable, it is important to highlight the application-based MIM8 - Local Digital Twin. MIM8 describes the following 6 layers:
-
Layer 1: Data acquisition (historic/near real-time/real-time data), including sensing, extraction, and synthetic data generation.
-
Layer 2: Connectivity, including APIs, protocols, and file sharing.
-
Layer 3: Data pre-processing, including semantics, interoperability, and aggregation.
-
Layer 4: Analysis and simulation, including AI Models and physics-based simulations.
-
Layer 5: Communication of results (visualisation), including dashboards, multi-dimensional visualisations, natural language interfaces (like chatbots), and virtual reality.
-
Layer 6: Decision-making, including prescription, support, and automation.
Layer 1 (Data acquisition) aligns with the Data Acquisition component of our high-level overview of an LDT; layer 2 (Connectivity) with the Connectivity and Data Management component; layer 3 (Data pre-processing) with the Data acquisition and Data Management components; layer 4 (Analysis and simulation) with the Analysis component, which includes simulation; layer 5 (Communication of results) with the Visualisation component; and layer 6 (Decision-making) with the Visualisations (support), Analysis (automation), and Decision-Making (prescription, support) components (see Figure 4).
Next to defining the typical layers of an LDT, MIM8 provides more details on an LDT’s capabilities: LDTs are able to share data with other data ecosystems, LDTs are able to share services, and LDTs are able to share SLCs. Moreover, other MIMs, notably the Foundational MIMs, provide interoperability mechanisms dealing with Accessing Data (MIM0), which aligns with the Data Acquisition component; Interlinking Data (MIM1) and Representing Data (MIM2), which align with the Data Acquisition and Data Management components; Sharing Data (MIM3) and Securing Data (MIM6), which align with the Data Management and Connectivity component.
1.6. Relationship between data spaces and LDTs
2. LDT building blocks based on DSSC & DS4SSCC-DEP building blocks
2.1. Business and organisational building blocks
2.2. Technical building blocks
3. Workflows
3.1. Adding a new Surface-level component to an existing LDT
3.2. Discovering which Surface-level components work on an existing LDT
4. Reference architectures
4.1. Business and organisational architecture
4.2. Technical architecture
4.2.1. Support different data models
4.2.2. Support different data exchange types
4.2.3. Support for the usage of data from different LDTs
4.2.4. Support for working with different AI models
