Glasgow airport announces digital twin competition

Up to £70,000 is being made available to a company to develop digital twin technologies with Glasgow Airport.

The Living Lab Digital Twin Competition, launched by the Connected Places Catapult with Glasgow Airport, is designed to take forward innovative digital twin technology solutions tailored for the aviation sector. The competition is specifically aimed at enhancing operations at the Scottish airport.

A digital twin is a computer model that serves as a digital representation of a physical asset, which may or may not yet exist.

“Glasgow gives us the opportunity to look at challenges from across the aviation sector and it is anticipated that solutions will be applicable across a number of airports,” Andrew Chadwick, Ecosystem Director, Air Mobility & Airports, Connected Places Catapult told Cities Today. “Aviation challenges we’re seeking solutions to are: asset replacement, passenger movement and energy management.”

Digital twin insights

Airports can benefit from digital twins through modelling passenger journeys through the airport–to gain insights on footfall and support better decision making and forecasting to improve efficiency. And they can aid consumption monitoring, energy costs and emissions to better understand and consider the introduction of new infrastructure, such as EV charging, and even the introduction of future electric aircraft into daily operations.

“Digital twins are an evolving technology with a huge array of potential applications,” Chadwick added. “Our Connected Airport Living Lab partnership with Glasgow Airport gives us the perfect opportunity to consider how this technology can benefit the aviation sector by testing in a real environment.”

Jon Matthews, Group Head of Capital Investment and Planning at AGS Airports, which owns Glasgow Airport, said: “As the UK’s First Connected Airport Living Lab, it is an exciting time at Glasgow as we look at how we to harness new technologies, not only to enhance the passenger experience and our operations, but to create the next revolution in aviation through zero-emission flight.

“I would urge innovators working with digital twin technologies to get in touch to see how their work could find solutions and create opportunities within the aviation industry.”

Following an assessment of the proposals, one organisation will be chosen to advance to phase two to carry out a full-scale deployment of their digital twin solution at Glasgow Airport. The competition closes on 7 March 2024.

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