What if We Could Replicate our World to Predict the Future with Lea Kierbel | Airbus

Hello everyone, thank you for attending. I'm Lea Kerbel uh product marketing manager working for Abas defense and space geospatial. Um today I would like to present uh yeah so what if we could replicate our world to predict the future. So it's really about digital twins and I would like to uh illustrate that with um notably a partnership uh that we have done um and yeah just give you a little bit of overview of what uh digital twins are. So let's start. So um yeah, Obeni world is full of challenges. I would like just to set this big picture for you to understand why we need digital twins. Um so challenges especially for urban managements. So by benny we mean brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible word. Uh the first challenge I would like to to highlight is super cities with demographic and urban growth. So by 2030 60% of uh global population will live in town and cities. Uh the landscape will be characterized by uh vertical urbanization urban spraw uh with numerous megalopolices blooming. Uh the second challenge is the fact that the world is on the brink of war with crisis and defense um really building up. So um wars and conflicts are on the rise and expanding globallies. So cities are really vulnerable uh places because they have nerve centers of nations where decisions are made and where power is uh gathered. So the third challenge is the world warming up. So the recurrence of extreme weather events. So uh we have seen in 20 um 24 uh this was the year of flood all over the world and uh last summer we also uh had uh wildfires. So um the cities are once again vulnerable to this um these effects. Uh they are particularly exposed uh to climate. So in St. Paul's um we can say that 570 cities um representing 800 million people are projected to be exposed to sea level rise and storm surges by 2050. Um so we'll also see urban the phenomenon of urban heat island intensifying. uh this represents 1.7 billion people that could be affected and um so we estimate that cities can be up to seven uh degrees Celsius hotter than surrounding rural areas. So in the end uh environment and cities are at stake with their resilience being tested. So uh let's see how the virtual twin and the virtual twin of the earth could help tackle such challenges. So first let's explain what a dig a virtual twin of the earth is. So it's digital replica of the earth uh translating um the real world features into a digital uh copy a digital environment. So it's an immersive interactive virtual uh experience and um effective strategies to be built they require uh let's say uh deep understanding so really a 360deree view of uh whole city uh it's a complex ecosystem. So or it evolves and reacts especially to um climate change to uh extreme weather events. It's shaped by both natural forces and human activities. So these human activities can be simulated thanks to uh this virtual twin of the earth. You can really model human activities, understand their impact on the environment and anticipate solutions for improved living conditions. So it's really about uh building shaping a better world and making it more sustainable for uh everyone. So therefore we try to reduce the risks. We try to make the cities uh more resilient uh anticipate future challenges and uh thanks to a virtual twin really built on uh realistic 3D earth observation model uh we can make informed decisions and uh do urban planning disaster management. So not it's not only about visualization of the future but truly giving ourselves the chance to influence it and to build it. So now um we I would like to present a concrete case uh through our collaboration with the company DO system. So together we have uh set up a virtual twin of the earth. So this was our project with the convergence of uh two industrial initiatives. So uh from two complimentary partners who uh which are leaders in their own area. So first airbas defense and space with this it geospatial entity a global leader for satellite imagery and uh that's a system with their brand simula a leading provider of 3D modeling and simulations. So uh the project started in 2020. It was um sponsored by the uh French space agency uh supported by the government as part of the France initiative uh which is uh you know it was postcoid industrial revival and recovery program for yeah the French uh industry French economy and in this case so delivers uh realistic uh 3D models the 3D database this that can be reused um and they can cover any area of interest in the world. So it's really uh broad and uh for DAO system with their brand simul uh they are able to foster innovative use cases because similar uh is a piece of software. It's a software uh which is able to simulate several physical properties. So there's really a wide range of physical properties uh physical phenomenon you can uh simulate at different scale. So yeah in the end it's about really promoting uh new services and new use cases. I continue. So I would like to break it down for you. If we want to create to set up a vis virtual twin of the earth uh how does it work? So uh let's um see that together step by step. So this is where uh Airbus moves in first. This is the first step. We need to lay the foundations and in this case we do that with geospatial data. So with satellite uh imagery. I will explain a little bit more. So um yeah so we have we produce we are able to produce 3D models which are industry versatile and we've uh which you can do many applications. So you can support visualization, simulation, um analysis, modeling. So it's really a replication of the word. And uh in this project we Abus have architected several cities. So uh we produced uh the one you can see there. So Dubai, we also uh produce Cape Town, Leon, Paris and other cities. So uh really here we did that thanks to the satellites. So thanks to the photoggramometry uh really combining this technique uh with an accurate um 3D modeling thanks to our algorithms to provide this lifelike uh digital foundations. So I yeah so this is what we benefit from uh this comprehensive earth observation constellation uh this is what we operate so it provides let's say a good um varied range of resolutions swaps revisits capabilities um acquisition modes frequencies so really offering top top-notch uh data and accuracy So I will describe a little bit. Uh we have um let's say the best resolution we can offer. It's the playads new at 30 cm. We have uh pleads uh 50 cm and spot at 1.5 m. So this is the resolution. This is the optical constellation and we also uh benefit from radar constellation terasar x andics and pass. So um so yeah why uh opting for uh satellite imagery? So what are the benefits? I will say that you have let's say the capacity to acquire any area on earth. You can overcome obstacles. You can access remote areas that are difficult to map with groundbased sensors with higher world sensors. So really uh overcome any constraints. Um so as I say you have a worldwide satellite coverage thanks to the swap you can cover large areas you have daily revisit in particular with uh paso and we have good accuracy in resolution going down to 30 cm in particular if you exploit PS new um then how do you produce 3D thanks to that so two techniques the first one for the optical constellation which is uh photoggramometry so it's about you know uh it's a passive sensor capturing stereo and trio uh acquisition images and then with the algorithms we produce 3D models. We also operate the radar constellation. So this is another technique called interferometry and uh so the synthetic uh aperture radar it's an active um system as you know as you might know. So we send microwaves to the earth they are back scattered and captured by two uh satellites. So one emitter and uh one passive receiver. So uh that's it. And now I would like to show you uh to showcase one of our latest uh 3D models uh in Italy. So this is the latest one we've produced. So let's go for uh fly over. Yeah. Okay. I hope you enjoyed the view. Uh so indeed we map the world in 3D as I said uh we offer realistic 3D models like the one you can also see there with capes on and a wide range of elevation data. So we have global of the shelf resolution data. So the at 5 m resolution with blead that I presented earlier we can do um elevation um so digital elevation model both surface model and terin model at uh 0.5 m and uh yeah in the end we cover uh broad resolution range going down to 0.5 m with a good absolute vertical accuracy down to 1 meter. So that's it for uh the range of products and layers that we can provide. I continue. So this is the second step. Now it's uh da systems turn uh to enter the stage. So they have their magic one which is um similar. So this software as I said is able to uh simulate various physical properties. And here this is uh over the city of Sydney that we mapped in 3D. Uh we defined four um use cases that we uh so four scenarios, four use cases that we simulated. So the first one uh it's aerodynamic simulations. So it's about pollutant dispersions related to industrial activity to ozard to vehicle exhaust and uh we can yeah simulate exceptional winds on structures infrastructure. In the end the goal is to reduce uh the pollution by really identifying the main sources and acting upon it. Uh the second type of simulation it's acoustic. So it's about noise identification and the reduction of the noises by identifying once again targeting the sources. So train, vehicles, aircraft, whatever. Uh the third one I mentioned you remember a challenge at the beginning related to this. This is thermal management in the city. So possible sources of heat uh can be solar radiation, building temperature. uh we going to also factors influencing like green areas building materials that use the soils. So it's really about detecting and limited uh limiting sorry uh the urban its islands. Uh then the last one is the simulation of electromagnetic waves. Um so they are emitting mostly from antennas. So you can perform line of sight analysis. Uh so for both purposes first you can protect people or population from electromagnetic risks but you can also uh decide you know where uh to place the antenna. So at the the right spot really to make sure uh you have good connectivity. So yeah there are also more use cases that I don't present there but these are the main ones. Um so okay now I continue with uh one example for which we made a video. Oh okay. So um this one is airflow and airborne pollutant propagation. So we are going to Sydney once again and we will see. Yeah. So I let you watch the video. Okay, we move one step further. So, okay. So, to simulate this uh two yeah two configuration. So there is uh a source a politan source uh which you can see yeah on the top and the two configurations. So it's we have we have two variables. So first the wind speed uh so in one case it was uh I don't know 35 km per hour. Second case 30 kilome per hour and uh the wind direction. So northwest or so the first video stopped but I think it was uh northeast and in each case so we see the dispersion of pollutants. So know if I should play it again. Yeah. Maybe one more time. Yeah. So you can see what it looks like. Okay, maybe let's continue. So the third and final step is once you're able so you have your digital foundations, you are able to simulate uh risks to anticipate. So now you would like to make accurate datadriven decisions. So who are uh let's say the targets the audiences. So I would say anyone related to urban mapping and planning. So government, public sector and institutions uh urban planners, smart cities, private sector industries uh also insurance maybe. Um so for what use cases? So it's about you know optimizing energy uh performance, urban planning, transport, infrastructure development, uh the management of natural resources, the protection of the environment, disaster management, emergency response, um you know modeling climate scenario policies, logistic planning, monitoring progress towards sustainability goals. There are plenty of applications. I'm pretty sure this is not uh exhaustive. uh so we really want to support uh all these actors you know uh toward their goals and really uh to making the cities more resilient uh more robust and really able to yeah anticipate risk and act accordingly to build the future. So the benefits of such let's say uh simulation such virtual twin of the earth is that of course you can improve cooperation between decision makers because you see the way you make it visual it's really easy to convey your ideas and your messages it's really easy to make it understandable so you can anticipate reduce risk as I said optimize your operation reduce the cost because you enter the digital world instead of you know um I don't know making simulations really uh on the field. So you play with the data and it should be more cost efficient. Uh you can improve planning and policy effectiveness, enhance the sustainability and environmental protection, increase overall preparedness and response speed because you are more prepared because you were able to anticipate and to map the scenarios and you can foster public engagement and transparency. Um I will give one example about that. We had the city of Modon in France. Uh they had to tackle a challenge which was they had three urban heat islands. Uh so they launched a tender and uh you know so they received several proposals. They want to study the proposal see uh what uh projects what project has the more impact the more benefits. So then the digit digital twin here act as a tool uh you know to control the efficiency uh let's say if this project are really true and keep their promises and they can see yeah so if we plant for inance instance trees what kind of trees and in this streets uh what can be the benefits will will this uh reduce the heat in such streets so it's really you know for them uh we don't think about that but it's not only about you know uh the people you know building the infrastructures but also the people you know um would need to make decisions and to choose the right project for their city. already the uh public sector and uh city uh government city authorities. Yeah, the urban planners. Um I think that's uh yeah that's pretty what I wanted to to convey today. So thank you very