The COVID-19 pandemic is causing some property owners and managers of commercial office space to create digital twins of their buildings to model everything from the ability of workers to maintain a safe social distance to how the flow of air generated by HVAC units could carry the virus. 

That's according to  JLL, which says that digital twins—virtual replicas of physical spaces that property managers can use to simulate things such as vacant indoor environments before people return to them en masse—are surging in use in real estate and other industries during the pandemic. The technology, originally developed for use by the aerospace industry in the 1960s, has gained new steam with the introduction of better Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and advanced computer modeling. JLL reports that research firm MarketsandMarkets has projected the digital twin industry will grow to $35.8 billion in 2025, compared to the $3.8 billion it generated in 2019.

Jim Whittaker, engineering services lead at JLL, says particularly now, with a vital need for building owners to consider how their properties are being managed, digital twins are providing data and visualizations to help monitor built spaces. "Objective and credible data has always been needed to make decisions on property portfolios and inform investment decisions," said Whittaker, as quoted in the JLL report. "But, agile, scalable, and dynamic workplaces are needed now more than ever."