Dive Brief:
The city of Orlando is investing in a digital twin of its metro region, which will use real-time data to inform decisions on infrastructure, utilities and business development.

Unlike many other cities’ digital twins that capture downtown areas, the Orlando project — currently being developed by technology company Unity — will map the entire 40-square-mile metro region, including the Space Coast, amusement parks and the Orlando International Airport. That will allow it to also be used as a model to show off the region to businesses and developers interested in investing in the city, said Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP) CEO Tim Giuliani.

The model, slated to be unveiled in October, is a key part of the city’s “digital transformation,” Giuliani said, and will help in scenario planning. “You go from the abstractness of a PowerPoint slide deck with some bullet points to being able to look and see something,” he said. “This is a much easier way to digest the information.”