Public space security management using digital twin technologies
Stylianos Zindros, Christos Chronis, Panagiotis Radoglou-Grammatikis, Vasileios Argyriou, Panagiotis Sarigiannidis, Iraklis Varlamis, Georgios Th. Papadopoulos
TL;DR
The paper tackles public-space security by developing a parametrized Digital Twin of the Athens metro station in FlexSim, evaluated within the DTaaSS framework. It combines station geometry, passenger flows, and surveillance data to simulate threat scenarios and optimize camera configurations, using a probabilistic detector that blends angular, distance, and density cues via $P_i = w_A * A_i^{norm} + w_D * D_i^{norm} + w_N * N_i^{norm}$. The key contributions are a detailed DT model of the station, a quantitative assessment of camera-placement strategies, and a comparative analysis across configurations showing that adding cameras (Model 11) yields highest and most robust detection accuracy (up to ~0.91). The results support the viability of DT-based real-time security management for public spaces and offer a transferable framework for threat detection and prevention in transportation hubs.
Abstract
As the security of public spaces remains a critical issue in today's world, Digital Twin technologies have emerged in recent years as a promising solution for detecting and predicting potential future threats. The applied methodology leverages a Digital Twin of a metro station in Athens, Greece, using the FlexSim simulation software. The model encompasses points of interest and passenger flows, and sets their corresponding parameters. These elements influence and allow the model to provide reasonable predictions on the security management of the station under various scenarios. Experimental tests are conducted with different configurations of surveillance cameras and optimizations of camera angles to evaluate the effectiveness of the space surveillance setup. The results show that the strategic positioning of surveillance cameras and the adjustment of their angles significantly improves the detection of suspicious behaviors and with the use of the DT it is possible to evaluate different scenarios and find the optimal camera setup for each case. In summary, this study highlights the value of Digital Twins in real-time simulation and data-driven security management. The proposed approach contributes to the ongoing development of smart security solutions for public spaces and provides an innovative framework for threat detection and prevention.