Virtual Twin technology provides an immersive, data-driven approach to customer experience. What is it and what are its origins?

To understand how a virtual twin works, we need to first look at its partner, the digital twin. Digital Twin tech is creating waves in commercial property development. As a result of digital transformation, this technology innovation offers real advantages to property managers and promises to provide significant ROI.

“Digital Twinning optimizes operations, improves the visitor experience, delivers benefits across the full lifecycle of a building, and simulates complex scenarios. It is Industry 4.0 and it is strategic. It is, in fact, the next innovation stage in today’s technology-laden smart building real estate industry” – Deloitte Reflexions magazine Vol. 9.

So what’s the difference between a Virtual Twin and a Digital Twin and what does that mean for the visitor experience?

A Digital Twin is essentially a tool used by facility managers to visualize building data so operations can be improved to make them less costly to run – a Building Information Management (BIM) model has become central to back of house operations and is now making a difference for the visitor experience.

PAMs Virtual Twin technology provides facility owners the tools to create an exact replica of any built environment. It’s like an online game, accessed via a smartphone web browser so visitors can easily find anywhere. They can recognize real landmarks like retail stores, wall murals, building facades, logos, art and even temporary branded places!

Add a layer of operational data from a Digital Twin BIM model and other simpler data sources. Make it visible on the Virtual Twin map a visitor uses to make live, up-to-the-minute decisions before they go somewhere. Help them see what shops are open, when they close, what deals a running, if a car park is getting full or if a route is temporarily closed!

Here are some of the benefits of PAM’s new Virtual Twin technology:

• Provide the best routing to destinations, adding live changes during construction and maintenance projects to reduce congestion.
• Provide parking directions based on availability, distance, price, EV charging & accessible spaces.
• Surface where crowds are and calmer areas on a property, wait times for concessions or facilities so visitors can make smarter decisions.
• Quickly locate the best entrance for an internal destination or find available meeting spaces.
• Integrate with event management data to show the location of planned events and temporary activities.
• Track results from past events to understand what improvements can be made to increase customer satisfaction.
• Share point-of-sale promotions for specific products, and communicate it to consumers in real-time – including the location!

Digital Twins and other data sources feed into PAMs Virtual Twin maps to create a feedback loop. Operations use data from the Digital Twin to enhance efficiency within the environment over time. The Virtual Twin continuously adds this data to any existing visitor experience in real time, which in turn improves visitor experiences that will keep people coming back for more.

Tracking results to improve performance

Our cloud PAMOS provides clients the flexibility to build a Virtual Twin that help their visitors connect with the environment and create places their visitors love. 3D maps ensure visitors can frictionlessly navigate any facility, find out what is going on, where, and when. These maps work in combination with digital interactive directories, directional signs, or via simple QR codes and smartphones so every visitor understands the district and how to get the most out of their visit.

The capacity of PAM to communicate with a variety of property technologies and share that information in real-time is what distinguishes PAM and provides our clients with the power of the Virtual Twin. While the customer experience advantages of a Virtual Twin are apparent right away, it is ultimately a long-term investment in future-proofing the way you provide information to visitors, then capture the data from those experience interactions and continually improve them in big and small ways to make each environment feel so much more exciting, personal and inviting.

Strategic Benefits of a Virtual Twin

The improvement cycle is a feedback loop that extends from one technology touch point to the next, then on to your visitors experience to captures how their behaviour changes to increase efficiency, resulting in more productive and profitable places and spaces.

The Digital Twin, for example, provides information regarding parking congestion to an operator and the Virtual Twin provides visitors with this information so they can park in a convenient location. As the bottleneck is addressed, users’ parking habits improve as well, and they take advantage of these changes instead of just shifting the issue to a new location. Continuous and organic improvement, rather than a short term solutions is the goal to make places smarter to navigate.

Outcomes of a Virtual Twin are firstly visitor-centric.

An informed visitor has a better understanding of the environment and is empowered to do more with their time. They have a better experience and are engaged more of the time to explore their surroundings and find new and exciting experiences.

Supported by real operational benefits.

Operationally, it’s possible to know where navigation challenges exist to implement changes instantly to resolve issues. Overtime Operations can implement strategic initiatives that continually optimize any district, and make their jobs more efficient and effective and use their time more effectively.

Finally, there’s a revenue and Brand benefit.

Efficiencies that directly impact customer experience are directly linked to increased revenues and brand awareness. Visitors spend more time interacting with retail stores, amenities, products and services and less time goes to waste. Customers are more at ease and engaged with brands, and loyal to those environments as a result.

Each City venue, campus or district has its unique challenges. Identifying the best way to leverage a Virtual Twin is key to any digital transformation strategy. Please book a free strategy discussion with us and discover how PAM can future-proof your business in the digital era.

Jason Hutty
VP Sales and Marketing, PAM