Deploying Digital Twins for Asset Reconstruction with Bart Brink
April 10, 2025
In this episode of Smart Twins, host Jimmy Abualdenien is joined by Bart Brink, leader of the national renovation program for assets in infrastructure, housing and real estate in the Netherlands, and chair of the digital twin working group at buildingSMART International. Bart brings deep insight to their conversation as a national and global leader in the digital twin environment since 2017. Bart shares how he first encountered the world of digital twins and became passionate about better connecting the physical and digital worlds. From building bridges to planning cities, Bart sees the potential behind digital twins and is personally committed to driving the creation and optimizing of dynamic virtual representations of physical assets. Bart takes a step back and explains for listeners the essential definition of digital twins, and explores how that definition has evolved over time. Bart and Jimmy discuss the importance of a dynamic flow of information between the digital twin and the real life asset, and the value of looking beyond a single digital twin to create an ecosystem of digital twins. They also explore the critical consideration of how to safeguard data used to create a digital twin, taking into consideration how the owner maintains financial, operational and legal control of their data. Bart also emphasizes the importance of digital twins beyond just a replica or virtual representation. He lays out how digital twins can provide key insight for decision makers, and provide value creation by providing business insights. He stresses that the value of a digital twin is not just in analyzing data but in providing data for human interpretation to improve decision making. And he points out the value of digital twins beyond the individual, exploring the importance of governments creating an ecosystem that promotes a collective effort and communal reward from digital twins. Bart wraps up the conversation exploring how artificial intelligence can be paired with digital twins – to reinforce their productivity and make them even more accessible – and provides insight for those looking to pursue a digital twin.
In this episode of Smart Twins, host Jimmy Abualdenien is joined by Bart Brink, leader of the national renovation program for assets in infrastructure, housing and real estate in the Netherlands, and chair of the digital twin working group at buildingSMART International. Bart brings deep insight to their conversation as a national and global leader in the digital twin environment since 2017.
Bart shares how he first encountered the world of digital twins and became passionate about better connecting the physical and digital worlds. From building bridges to planning cities, Bart sees the potential behind digital twins and is personally committed to driving the creation and optimizing of dynamic virtual representations of physical assets.
Bart takes a step back and explains for listeners the essential definition of digital twins, and explores how that definition has evolved over time. Bart and Jimmy discuss the importance of a dynamic flow of information between the digital twin and the real life asset, and the value of looking beyond a single digital twin to create an ecosystem of digital twins. They also explore the critical consideration of how to safeguard data used to create a digital twin, taking into consideration how the owner maintains financial, operational and legal control of their data.
Bart also emphasizes the importance of digital twins beyond just a replica or virtual representation. He lays out how digital twins can provide key insight for decision makers, and provide value creation by providing business insights. He stresses that the value of a digital twin is not just in analyzing data but in providing data for human interpretation to improve decision making. And he points out the value of digital twins beyond the individual, exploring the importance of governments creating an ecosystem that promotes a collective effort and communal reward from digital twins.
Bart wraps up the conversation exploring how artificial intelligence can be paired with digital twins – to reinforce their productivity and make them even more accessible – and provides insight for those looking to pursue a digital twin.