Initially, the scanning of KI's premises on Campus Solna involves an internal laser scan of all buildings, which covers a total of just over 300,000 m2. After that, the nearly 370,000 m2 outdoor environments will also be scanned with the help of drones to get a complete picture of the campus. In short, you can say that the digital model that is created will then be filled with other data, in this way you get a digital copy that when connected to a network becomes a so-called digital twin. The initiative, the largest of its kind that Akademiska Hus has carried out, is part of the company's work to digitalise its property portfolio to meet the new and changed demands that higher education institutions place on the physical environment as new pedagogy and new user behaviours develop.
"With data and insights from the digital twin, we can see which premises are being used and how they are being used to determine which room types and functions are in demand more or less. We simply want to help our customers use today's buildings smarter and secure so that we make good use of the existing property portfolio so well that we do not have to build new ones in the future," says Peter Karlsson, Business Developer at Akademiska Hus.
Climate gains of up to 30 percent
According to Akademiska Hus, it is possible to increase the use of existing premises by up to 30 percent. The company also sees potential in using sensors, visualisations and new analysis capabilities via the digital twin to reduce Akademiska Hus' overall energy consumption but above all also power requirements by up to 20 per cent.
"The opportunities offered by the new technology are many and will be of great importance to Akademiska Hus if we are to achieve our goal of climate neutrality. With a digital twin, our buildings can also be operated in even new ways and make it easier to detect when something in the premises is not working," says Peter Karlsson.
"The digital twin of our buildings gives us the opportunity to more easily visualize our portfolio and for the business to book the right premises. In addition to the obvious applications, development is rapid in the area, so we believe there is great potential to improve service and reduce climate footprint. We will continue our close collaboration with Akademiska Hus and develop the use of digital models but also sensors in the premises, which we believe will reduce energy use and costs for the premises in the long term," says Rikard Becker, Director of Property Management at Karolinska Institutet.
