Virtual Singapore, the first ever digital twin city, is a $73 million, data-rich, live digital replica of an actual city created through a partnership between the Singapore government and a private sector enterprise. It is a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) city model and collaborative data platform, including 3D maps of Singapore allowing officials to take a bird’s-eye view of the city, or zoom in on specific features of an area. When completed, Virtual Singapore will be the authoritative 3D digital platform intended for use by the public, private, people and research sectors.

It is a project that offers four main capabilities to stakeholders:

• Virtual Experimentation: Virtual Singapore can be used to conduct experiments like identifying the coverage areas of 3G/4G networks, provide realistic visualization of poor coverage areas, and highlight areas that can be improved on in the 3D city model.
• Virtual Test-Bedding: Virtual Singapore makes it possible to visualize existing landscape against ongoing and future upgrading or renovation projects, enabling agencies to collaborate and harmonize their respective projects, and optimize the overall design and implementation.
• Planning and Decision-Making: With a rich data environment, Virtual Singapore is a holistic and integrated platform with which to develop analytical applications. For instance, an app could be developed to analyze transport flows and pedestrian movement patterns. Or, plans for a new high-speed rail to a neighboring city could be analyzed and optimized.

This data from the platform will be accessible to the government, researchers, businesses and citizens. It will allow city administration bodies to simulate any plans for improvement before physically implementing them, checking for potential problems before they can become reality.

Architectural aspects, envisioned and analyzed using 3D digital tools, can include environmentally friendly housing, wireless network antennas, solar panels and public transport.