Miami Digital Real Estate Summit explores digital twins as key to climate-resilient cities
By Anayansy Hernandez
“We’re facing increased climate challenges and digital twin technology will allow us to better simulate climate and disaster scenarios, optimize evacuation plans, improve regional resilience and ensure Miami is a climate-ready economy,” Miami-Dade County Director of Economic Development James Kohnstamm shared this week at the Miami Digital Real Estate Summit.
The summit, produced by Magma and Logos Capital with a number of supporters, brought together 150 attendees at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science on Tuesday to discuss how digital twin technology could be the key to creating a smart city model and artificial intelligence-driven improvement plan for the county. Also discussed was Miami’s growth as a tech hub, and how technologies like AI, blockchain and digital assets are transforming the real estate sector, which is one of the biggest drivers of Miami’s economy.
Implementing digital twins in Miami
So what exactly is a digital twin? In one panel discussion, Philip Panaro, former CEO of BCG Platinion, described it “as a digital representation of a physical building.” The technology uses sensors to gather data from various sources, for example, the water pipes, to reflect real-time information which can then be used to predict potential maintenance issues and test different operational scenarios. This can ultimately reduce construction costs, energy consumption and long-term maintenance expenses.
There are many use cases for the technology and Miami is already experiencing adoption. Miami International Airport is undergoing a $9 billion renovation, implementing a Building Information Model (BIM) to enhance its development and upkeep. Jorge Quiroz, CEO of PDBM Consulting, is closely involved in the project, ensuring that each design consultant and contractor creates a BIM model that integrates seamlessly with an asset management system post-construction. This data collection will facilitate smooth operations and maintenance for the entire airport.
The city of Coral Gables also implemented a publicly accessible digital twin in 2022. The system offers live data on traffic, parking availability, the topography of the city, land and asset management, and more. It was even used to drive economic development when the data from the sensors was shared with businesses to offer insights into how to grow revenue.
Mainstream adoption takes time
While the technology is not mainstream yet, Sharon Chen, head of go-to-market for North America at Akila, said new regulation is pushing mass adoption in cities.
“Regulatory has pushed the needle on many of these commercial developers or private developers,” she said. “Boston just passed new regulations on new builds that need to be net zero. So that also helps push the needle.”
In another on-stage discussion, Natalia Karayaneva, co-founder and CEO of Miami-based real estate tech company Propy, shared how her startup pioneered transferring real estate ownership with a few clicks between digital wallets. The platform integrates smart contracts to streamline title and escrow services, reducing closing times significantly, all the while staying compliant with real estate regulation and using digital assets like cryptocurrencies. Propy has two business models: traditional title/escrow and on-chain property transfer. They are running their services on Filecoin, which offers a decentralized storage solution that ensures property records are secure and tamper-proof.
Hesitation to change can be a factor slowing mass adoption of real estate technologies such as digital twins and digital assets, but emerging projects in the Miami area should continue to serve as successful case studies for the technologies and the Miami tech community can play a big part in the success.
Reflecting on Miami Tech’s growth
Melissa Medina, CEO of eMerge Americas, and Saif Ishoof, founder of Lab22c, reflected on the early days of Miami Tech and how far the region has come. Medina explained that 10 years ago it was impossible to get investors to come to the city. The narrative has shifted to investors moving into the city and asking for founder introductions. Ishoof expanded on Miami’s economic growth mentioning how in 2023 the city ranked top 25 on the Global Financial Centers Index for the first time.
Both leaders agreed that growing the ecosystem to the next level will take collaboration and a transition in mindset. While institutions like Miami Dade College, University of Miami, Florida International University, and others are providing degree programs and developing a skilled workforce, it will also take entrepreneurs to take a serious approach to building businesses. “We win not by more cocktails, but by more curiosity and actually saying, are you willing to get your hands a little bit dirty in building with code?” said Ishoof.
Attendees of the summit also had the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops in the afternoon as well as view installations and experiences offering a glimpse of technology’s role in the future of real estate.
Pictured at top of post: Left to right, Silvio Frank Pupos-Casco, CEO of Logos Capital; Matthieu Merchadou, CEO of Magma; Philip Panaro, former CEO of BCG Platinion USA; Sharon Chen, Head of Go-to-Market North America for Akila; and Jorge Quiroz, CEO of PDBM Consulting.
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