Microsoft Paves Digital Twins’ On-ramp for Construction, Realty

Digital twins for the smart building of the future are still under construction. But Microsoft is working to enable this advanced technology with a special ontology that works with its internet of things (IoT) platform Azure Digital Twins. Such capabilities move smart

BY Realty Plus
Published - Monday, 07 Jun, 2021

Microsoft Paves Digital Twins’ On-ramp for Construction, Realty

Digital twins for the smart building of the future are still under construction. But Microsoft is working to enable this advanced technology with a special ontology that works with its internet of things (IoT) platform Azure Digital Twins. Such capabilities move smart buildings closer to reality. An ontology is essentially a shared data model that simplifies the process of connecting applications in a particular domain, and it’s one of the core elements for developing digital twins. “Microsoft is investing heavily in enabling our partners with the technology and services they need to create digital twin solutions that support new and existing needs of the world’s largest real estate portfolios,” said Microsoft Azure IoT general manager Tony Shakib. This recent push into construction extends the utility of Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins, released last year. To gain a foothold in the field, Microsoft partnered with RealEstateCore, a Swedish consortium of real estate owners, tech companies, and research groups, to integrate these services with various industry standards. Making a Smart Building RealEstateCore ontology for Azure Digital Twins enables the various parties in building markets — owners, construction teams, and vendors — to collaborate and communicate about real estate. This could accelerate the ability to weave IoT data, AI models, and analytics into digital twins, and to help simplify the transition to sustainable and green innovation, currently one of one of the fastest-growing venture capital sectors.