DUET · Project

Digital Twin Platform Lets Cities Test Policy Decisions Before Real-World Impact

digitalPilotedTRL 7

Imagine having a flight simulator, but for an entire city. DUET built a digital replica of real cities — including traffic, air pollution, and noise — so that city managers can test "what if" scenarios before making actual decisions. Want to close a road to traffic? See the pollution and congestion impact instantly on a 3D map. The system was tested in three real cities across Europe: Flanders in Belgium, Athens in Greece, and Pilsen in the Czech Republic.

By the numbers

Cities where the digital twin was piloted (Flanders, Athens, Pilsen)

Consortium partners involved in development

Countries represented in the consortium

Total project deliverables produced

Industry partners in the consortium

SMEs participating in the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities make major infrastructure and policy decisions — closing roads, changing zoning, adjusting traffic flows — without being able to fully predict the downstream effects on pollution, noise, and congestion. Bad decisions waste public money and erode citizen trust. Traditional planning tools are fragmented across departments and too complex for non-technical decision-makers or public consultation.

The solution

What was built

DUET delivered a complete digital twin platform including: a final prototype with 2D and 3D visualizations, simulation models for traffic, pollution, and noise, a data integration layer for connecting city data sources, an interactive dashboard and UI, a public portal (iterated through 4 versions), and a starter kit with an accompanying book published on Amazon to help new cities build their own digital twins. In total, 51 deliverables were produced.

Audience

Who needs this

City and regional government planning departmentsGovTech companies building smart city platformsEnvironmental and urban planning consultanciesTransport and mobility solution providersCitizen engagement and public participation platform developers

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Urban Planning & Smart City Technology

enterprise

Target: City governments and regional authorities managing urban infrastructure

If you are a municipal planning department dealing with the complexity of predicting how a new traffic policy or building project will affect pollution and congestion — DUET developed a digital twin platform tested in 3 European cities that lets you simulate the impact of decisions in 2D and 3D before committing resources. The starter kit and portal are designed so any city can build its own digital twin.

GovTech & Civic Technology

mid-size

Target: Software companies building decision-support tools for public administrations

If you are a GovTech company looking to add urban simulation capabilities to your product suite — DUET created reusable visualization components, simulation models, and a data integration layer that were validated across 3 cities in 3 different countries. The project delivered a starter kit with documentation specifically designed for reuse and integration by technology providers.

Environmental Consulting

any

Target: Consultancies advising cities on air quality, noise, and transport planning

If you are an environmental consultancy that needs to model the impact of urban changes on pollution and noise levels — DUET built simulation models for traffic, pollution, and noise integrated into a single platform with 2D and 3D visualizations. Tested across 16 consortium partners in 6 countries, the tool lets you present impact scenarios to city officials in a visual, easy-to-digest way.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement a digital twin for our city?

The project data does not include specific pricing or licensing costs. DUET produced a starter kit and an accompanying book (available on Amazon) to help cities get started. Contact the coordinator to discuss implementation costs and support packages.

Can this scale to a large metropolitan area or is it only for small pilot cities?

DUET was tested in locations of varying scale — from the City of Pilsen to the entire Flanders Region in Belgium. The platform uses cloud and high-performance computing (HPC) to handle large datasets, suggesting it was designed to scale beyond small cities.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license the technology?

The project involved 16 partners including 7 industry partners and 6 SMEs. IP ownership likely follows the EU consortium agreement. The starter kit and portal suggest the consortium intended commercial or open reuse, but specific licensing terms should be discussed with the coordinator, VLAAMSE GEWEST.

Does this comply with European data privacy regulations?

The project objective explicitly states that the digital twins address ethical considerations around data use while complying with Europe's stringent privacy and security regulations. Based on available project data, GDPR compliance was a design requirement from the start.

How long does it take to deploy a digital twin for a new city?

The project does not specify exact deployment timelines. However, the starter kit was created specifically to enable new cities and regions to create their own digital twin, which suggests a structured onboarding process. The project ran pilot deployments over approximately 3 years across 3 cities.

What data sources does the platform need to work?

DUET integrates traffic data, pollution and noise measurements, geospatial data, and linked open data. The project developed a dedicated data integration system (delivered as a specific component) that connects these sources into the visualization and simulation layer.

Consortium

Who built it

The DUET consortium of 16 partners across 6 countries is well-balanced for commercial follow-through: 7 industry partners (44% of the consortium) and 6 SMEs show strong private-sector involvement alongside 2 universities and 2 research organizations. The coordinator is VLAAMSE GEWEST, the Flemish regional government in Belgium, which means the project was driven by a real end-user of the technology rather than an academic institution. The mix of public bodies (categorized under "Other") with technology companies suggests the consortium was structured to build something cities would actually use, not just publish papers about. With partners from Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and the UK, the platform was stress-tested across different regulatory and data environments.

VLAAMSE GEWESTCoordinator · BE
ATHENS TECHNOLOGY CENTER ANONYMI VIOMICHANIKI EMPORIKI KAI TECHNIKI ETAIREIA EFARMOGON YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIASparticipant · EL
SPRAVA INFORMACNICH TECHNOLOGII MESTA PLZNE, PRISPEVKOVA ORGANIZACEparticipant · CZ
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNOparticipant · NL
IS-PRACTICE BVBAparticipant · BE
DIMOS ATHINAION EPICHEIRISI MICHANOGRAFISISparticipant · EL
INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUMparticipant · BE
PLAN4ALL ZSparticipant · CZ
ETAIREIA ELEYTHEROY LOGISMIKOY LOGISMIKOY ANOIKTOY KODIKAparticipant · EL
21C CONSULTANCY LIMITEDparticipant · UK
ZAPADOCESKA UNIVERZITA V PLZNIthirdparty · CZ
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVENparticipant · BE
AEGIS IT RESEARCH LTDparticipant · UK
virtualcitySYSTEMS GmbHparticipant · DE
OPEN & AGILE SMART CITIESparticipant · BE

How to reach the team

VLAAMSE GEWEST (Flemish Government, Belgium) — search for the DUET project lead via the Flemish digital innovation office or the project website contact page.

Order a report on this consortium See VLAAMSE GEWEST profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the DUET team to discuss deploying a digital twin in your city or integrating their technology into your platform? SciTransfer can arrange a direct connection with the right technical and business contacts in the consortium.

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