Founders’ Honors

Smart Systems Group worked with energy, transport, communications, water, housing, and charity stakeholders to test whole-systems planning. Existing mapping tools and separate open-data portals made it difficult to combine live information, explore infrastructure interdependencies, and build shared understanding of transport and energy scenarios. The constraint was coordination, not a lack of data, that gap slowed early validation. The team needed a collaborative environment that could make relationships across infrastructure systems visible to technical and non-technical audiences before more resource-intensive development.

Using Cesium and iTwin, the team developed digital twins that integrated datasets, sensor feeds, and scenario models in interactive 3D environments. The program remains in design; these digital twins are functional, not final production systems. Clear visualizationstrengthened stakeholder engagement and supported earlier concept validation. Prototype throughput rose from approximately one project per month to three projects per month, an approximate 66% increase in delivery speed. The Crichton Trust reported approximately GBP 100,000 in heating cost savings through improved energy management.