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Development of Digital Twin Environment through Integration of Commercial Metaverse Platform and IoT Sensors of Smart Building

Yusuke Masubuchi, Takefumi Hiraki, Yuichi Hiroi, Masanori Ibara, Kazuki Matsutani, Megumi Zaizen, Junya Morita

TL;DR

This work tackles the challenge of real-time, multi-user digital twins linking physical spaces with a commercial metaverse. It builds a digital twin environment that connects The GEAR smart-building in Singapore to Cluster through a standardized IoT platform (TGDPF) and an a dedicated relay server, with environmental data visualized in the metaverse. The system achieves practical end-to-end latencies (approximately 0.3 seconds for IAQ and fan data, and ~1.6 seconds for weather data) and demonstrates intuitive visualization techniques such as color-based temperature mapping, synchronized device states, and wind-driven audio effects. The approach enables cross-space collaboration and sets the stage for more immersive, remote smart-building interactions, while highlighting future work in user studies, bidirectional control, and security enhancements.

Abstract

The digital transformation of smart cities and workplaces requires effective integration of physical and cyber spaces, yet existing digital twin solutions remain limited in supporting real-time, multi-user collaboration. While metaverse platforms enable shared virtual experiences, they have not supported comprehensive integration of IoT sensors on physical spaces, especially for large-scale smart architectural environments. This paper presents a digital twin environment that integrates Kajima Corp.'s smart building facility "The GEAR" in Singapore with a commercial metaverse platform Cluster. Our system consists of three key components: a standardized IoT sensor platform, a real-time data relay system, and an environmental data visualization framework. Quantitative end-to-end latency measurements confirm the feasibility of our approach for real-world applications in large architectural spaces. The proposed framework enables new forms of collaboration that transcend spatial constraints, advancing the development of next-generation interactive environments.

Development of Digital Twin Environment through Integration of Commercial Metaverse Platform and IoT Sensors of Smart Building

TL;DR

This work tackles the challenge of real-time, multi-user digital twins linking physical spaces with a commercial metaverse. It builds a digital twin environment that connects The GEAR smart-building in Singapore to Cluster through a standardized IoT platform (TGDPF) and an a dedicated relay server, with environmental data visualized in the metaverse. The system achieves practical end-to-end latencies (approximately 0.3 seconds for IAQ and fan data, and ~1.6 seconds for weather data) and demonstrates intuitive visualization techniques such as color-based temperature mapping, synchronized device states, and wind-driven audio effects. The approach enables cross-space collaboration and sets the stage for more immersive, remote smart-building interactions, while highlighting future work in user studies, bidirectional control, and security enhancements.

Abstract

The digital transformation of smart cities and workplaces requires effective integration of physical and cyber spaces, yet existing digital twin solutions remain limited in supporting real-time, multi-user collaboration. While metaverse platforms enable shared virtual experiences, they have not supported comprehensive integration of IoT sensors on physical spaces, especially for large-scale smart architectural environments. This paper presents a digital twin environment that integrates Kajima Corp.'s smart building facility "The GEAR" in Singapore with a commercial metaverse platform Cluster. Our system consists of three key components: a standardized IoT sensor platform, a real-time data relay system, and an environmental data visualization framework. Quantitative end-to-end latency measurements confirm the feasibility of our approach for real-world applications in large architectural spaces. The proposed framework enables new forms of collaboration that transcend spatial constraints, advancing the development of next-generation interactive environments.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 8 sections, 4 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. System Architecture
  3. Smart Building and IoT Sensors
  4. Metaverse Platform
  5. Relay Server
  6. Experiment
  7. Visualization of environmental information
  8. Conclusion

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: System architecture of the proposed digital twin environment. Sensor data from The GEAR smart building is collected by The GEAR Digital Platform (TGDPF), while spatial information in the metaverse is exchanged between the Cluster client and server. These two systems are integrated through our custom relay server that bridges TGDPF and the Cluster server infrastructure.
  • Figure 2: Appearance of The GEAR, a smart building used in our system. The GEAR is Kajima Corporation's research and development hub located in Singapore.
  • Figure 3: Overview of The GEAR Digital Platform (TGDPF). The platform integrates essential IoT functionalities into a comprehensive package, including sensor data collection, visualization, analysis, and device management capabilities. TGDPF collects and stores data from IoT sensors installed throughout The GEAR facility, enabling efficient data utilization through its API interface.
  • Figure 4: Comparison of the physical space (left) and metaverse virtual space (right) of K/PARK, a semi-outdoor workspace within The GEAR facility. While minor differences exist, the implementation demonstrates high-fidelity digital twin replication of the physical environment.