A new national hub, jointly led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow, has secured £46 million in funding to decarbonise transport in the UK.
TransiT Hub will work to identify the lowest cost, least risky, and most efficient way to decarbonise transport – including road, rail, air, and maritime – by developing a digital twinning approach.
Made up of eight universities and 67 partners, TransiT Hub has secured £20 million in funding from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as well as £26 million from stakeholders across the digital, energy, and transport sectors.
The digital twin approach could see digital road signs automatically updating with information on the shortest route out of a traffic jam, with it based on real-time traffic data in that location.
Digital twins are digital replicas of the physical world; they are created using data collected from the physical world in real time. The data is collected by sensors connected to real-world infrastructure such as motorways or railways. Digital twin systems rapidly analyses the real-world data to test and improve different scenarios, with a solution for an improved process then being created in close to real time.
The TransiT team said its expect its testing to include elements of a future decarbonised UK transport system that don’t yet exist – for example, electric road systems and alternative fuels.
Digital twinning allows different transport configurations to be tested and developed much faster than real-world engineering projects, until the lowest cost pathway to net-zero carbon emissions is identified, the team added.
Professor Phil Greening is a logistics expert at Heriot-Watt University and joint director of TransiT. He said, “Transport accounts for about a third of UK carbon emissions and, with global temperatures rapidly rising, we have run out of time to carry out real-world transport trials and learn from them. So, if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction commitments, we have to do our experiments digitally. We need to design the future transport system and optimise the transition to it.
“Digital twins will help us see the where, what and how to decarbonise transport. We start by building individual models of real-world transport systems. These can then be connected together and linked to the real world to give a bigger picture of what our future decarbonised transport system might look like – and the lowest cost way of getting there.”
Professor David Flynn is a professor in cyber physical systems at the University of Glasgow and also a joint Director of TransiT. He commented, “We will explore how digital twinning can improve the design of future transport solutions, to ensure services are accessible to all. It’s challenging for designers and engineers today to appreciate the perspective of citizens with mobility challenges and what they experience throughout the full journey. If we can create and embed new design principles, we can identify equitable pathways to decarbonisation.
“Transport users including passengers and commuters will benefit from research to identify and help them make decisions about the most sustainable travel choices on a local, regional and national level. For example, passengers could benefit from a “personalised digital twin assistant.
“This is similar to how your Netflix or Amazon account learns your preferences, and will build an understanding of your mobility needs, journey requirements and personal preferences.
“The digital twin assistant will then offer near to real-time journey options that are end-to-end and that best fit your needs.”
