Working without borders in 3D: Future Insight brings European Digital Twins together in TWINE
Three European partners, three pilots, three unique data worlds. How do we make them work together seamlessly without you having to log in again every time or losing control of your data?
Across Europe, cities and regions are building their own digital platforms and 3D models. Rotterdam, Tampere, and Flanders are three examples of forerunners in this digital transformation of the living environment. And not just any three examples: they are three pilot partners contributing to the European TWINE project. Each of them has developed a strong, unique initiative:
Rotterdam links city data, such as information about buildings and commercial properties, to the city’s 3D model. This allows entrepreneurs to explore where in the city they can set up shop, while the data remains at the source.
Tampere is investigating how AI can more quickly guide entrepreneurs to the right business support and innovation services, even beyond the city limits.
Flanders bundles local rules, decisions, and subsidies in a single dataspace, allowing entrepreneurs to see what is permitted and where they can obtain financing.
Each of these is a fine initiative that seamlessly aligns with the European Commission's Web 4.0 ambition. With Web 4.0, Brussels aims to create an internet where the physical and digital worlds seamlessly converge in 3D and real-time, enabling municipalities, businesses, and citizens to make faster and smarter decisions about their living environment.
But anyone who now wants to work across city or country borders constantly runs into a digital wall. As soon as you want to move from the Rotterdam 3D model to the services in Tampere or Flanders, the session stops. You have to create an account again, fill out forms, and prove your identity.
The goal of TWINE is to solve this with the most tangible instrument Europe is currently developing: the EU Digital Identity Wallet (eIDAS2). The idea is as simple as it is powerful: log in once with your own trusted European digital identity, after which your access and authorizations travel seamlessly from city to city.
From three separate pilots to one federated network of Digital Twins
To break through this fragmentation, a standardized, federated approach is necessary.
An important advantage of this federated approach is that cities no longer have to reinvent the wheel. Solutions, AI tools, and open-source building blocks developed in one city or region (such as Rotterdam, Tampere, or Flanders) can be directly reused by other cities.
Future Insight's expertise has been called upon to help build TWINE as a core partner, a groundbreaking initiative under the Horizon Europe programme , funded by the European Union.
The European Union has a clear ambition: the next generation of the internet (Web 4.0) must be open, human-centered, and sovereign. Instead of relying on closed Big Tech platforms, Brussels wants virtual 3D cities, AI, and real-time data to work together seamlessly via open standards.
To make this possible, the TWINE consortium is building a single common digital blueprint for European cities. This architecture ensures that 3D city models, dataspace services, and identity solutions such as the EU wallet can be linked together. Because everything is built on open European standards, the systems will immediately speak the same language.
To this end, TWINE brings together a powerful European network of ten partners: Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Centre vzw (IMEC), Open & Agile Smart Cities vzw (OASC) , Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA , The Lisbon Council , Municipality of Rotterdam , TAMPEREEN KAUPUNKI (City of Tampere) , The Baltic Institute of Finland, Flemish Government - Agency for Internal Administration, Business Tampere OY and Future Insight.
Our assignment: Bringing together the data from the three pilots
Within the project, Future Insight makes substantive contributions to various work packages. Our main focus lies on Work Package 4 (Cross-City Federation and Technical Integration), which is led by the Municipality of Rotterdam. In this work package, we provide the technical expertise to connect the data and services from the pilots in Rotterdam, Tampere, and Flanders.
We do this by preparing our platform Clearly.Hub, upon which the Rotterdam pilot is explicitly built, for this broader federated network. Within the joint architecture, we focus on three crucial components:
Integration with the EU Digital Identity Wallet (eIDAS2): No more hassle with ten different accounts or passwords. The goal within TWINE is that a user will soon not have to log in repeatedly. Imagine a Finnish entrepreneur logging in with their own trusted government ID and immediately receiving the correct rights within the Rotterdam 3D environment. Together with the consortium partners, we are investigating and testing how Clearly.Hub can communicate seamlessly with the European identity building blocks.
Integration of the AI Data Mashup Editor: We connect Clearly.Hub to smart AI translators. As a result, the system automatically recognizes that the Dutch 'bouwjaar' and the Finnish 'rakennusvuosi' have exactly the same meaning, and visualizes this data correctly in 3D.
Implementation of the Data Space Protocol: We integrate open European data standards (such as NGSI-LD). This enables Clearly.Hub to securely exchange data with the systems in Tampere and Flanders, without cities losing control over their own data.
The result: Working without boundaries in 3D
The core idea behind TWINE, driven by the European vision of digital sovereignty, is 'federation'. Soon, an entrepreneur, developer, or advisor will only need to log in once with their own EU wallet. Subsequently, this user can effortlessly switch between, for example, the 3D city model of Rotterdam, the business AI services of Tampere, and the regulations on the map in Flanders. Your identity, access to data, and session are automatically transferred in the process, instead of needing separate accounts everywhere.
With this, we break down the digital city wall. We prove that Clearly.Hub integrates flexibly into a larger European ecosystem of data spaces and digital identities, and that cities can collaborate sovereignly without losing control over their own data.
Smart reuse and 25-35% cost savings
The true strength of TWINE lies in its reusability: what we are currently demonstrating in Rotterdam, Tampere, and Flanders, other European cities will soon be able to adopt immediately. This federation-ready architecture significantly reduces the need for costly custom work. Based on benchmarks from previous projects such as DUET and URBANAGE, this yields an estimated cost saving of 25 to 35% per city in terms of platform integration and maintenance.
Building the future
With TWINE, we demonstrate that innovation and European values go hand in hand. Cities no longer need to develop their digital infrastructures as isolated islands. By joining forces with Rotterdam, Tampere, and Flanders, we throw the door wide open to an open, scalable, and connected digital Europe.
At Future Insight, we are happy to apply our expertise to build this bridge. Curious how we can help your city or organization prepare for the future of federated data? Feel free to contact us!
Curious how your municipality can use this European blueprint for smart 3D city data and cross-border collaboration? Contact Bas Hoorn: | ✉️ [email protected] | 📞 +31 (0)6 - 46 90 97 84
