Expert Takes: Victor Khoo

You specialise in urban planning. How do metaverse technologies apply to that field?

I would say metaverse technologies are the next step in what has already been a long journey. This began with 3D mapping, which is a reflection of fundamental source data—a digital capture of a physical space. After 3D mapping, we moved on to 3D city modelling. City models are geometric depictions of cities—at city scale and in 3D—based on captured 3D data. Digital twins subsequently built on city models by incorporating more intelligent and smarter features.

Today, everyone asks what the difference between these things is, and from my perspective, it’s all just the evolution of reality capture. As for the metaverse, it’s traditionally been used to refer to imaginary virtual worlds that do not exist in physical reality. But from my perspective, rooted in urban planning and digital twins, I have great interest in the concept of an accurate real-world metaverse that’s a true reflection of the physical world that we know.

The key factor is persistence. The hard part is not so much in creating a digital twin but in maintaining an up-to-date and reliable digital twin over time. And I think that’s the same for the metaverse.

How are you applying these technologies in Singapore?

When we talk about applications, we always talk about the three S’s. We say it is important for our city to be safe, sustainable, and smart.

In terms of safety, the police use our data in various ways to ensure that the city is safe. When there are events, they will use the digital twin for certain simulations to support operations and planning. The water agency uses the digital twin to work on flood mitigation, which is very important: having a very high-resolution 3D model of the terrain is essential to run an accurate hydrology model. And, of course, the airport authority needs to know the height of each building very accurately and consistently.

To push sustainability, we work with researchers in green energy and protecting our coastline. Singapore’s main challenge is rising sea levels, and high-quality, accurate 3D datasets are essential. As for “smart,” construction is a sector in which very high-resolution 3D digital twins are used.

How far do you think we are from a fully integrated metaverse?

This will be a journey, and we are still at the beginning. Some specific sectors are already further down the road than others. If you’re talking about simulation training for certain machinery, for example, I think the metaverse is already there. So it really depends on the application and the sector that you’re talking about.

From my perspective, I would say the technology is there, but the data often lags behind. The data is crucial. We need to come up with better and faster ways to produce and renew data, especially for certain types of applications.

So the real question is about the scale and detail of your metaverse. Is it small-scale, or on a very large scale? We are definitely not ready to go fully nationwide in one go; the roll-out will have to be in stages, because the volume of work is enormous. Our capacities are limited at present, but AI is going to change that. I wouldn’t say that it will remove all the limitations, but it will help a lot in developing large-scale digital twins and metaverses.

This interview is from our first opus, released in June 2024. You can read the full opus here on our website.