Enhancing urban digital twin interfaces to support thermal comfort planning
Authors:
Desai Wang (1), Joie Lim (1), Marcel Ignatius (1), Kunihiko Fujiwara (2), Ben Gottfried Gottkehaskamp (3), Filip Biljecki (1), Nyuk Hien Wong (1), Clayton Miller (1)
(1) College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
(2) Research and Development Institute, Takenaka Corporation, Japan
(3) Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany
Abstract:
Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) integrate multilayered spatial data to support urban planning and climate adaptation efforts. Although UDTs have advanced significantly in data integration and predictive modeling, their usability remains underexplored. This study evaluates the Baselining, Evaluating, Action, and Monitoring (BEAM) platform, a web-based UDT developed by the National University of Singapore (NUS) for thermal comfort analysis. Through usability testing with ten urban planners and researchers, five from Singapore and five from the United States, this research assesses navigation, data interpretation, and integration into real world workflows. Participants completed guided tasks as well as usability surveys, revealing key challenges in data navigation, interface clarity, and analytical flexibility. User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) results showed high scores for attractiveness (1.67) and stimulation (1.70), but lower ratings for perspicuity (0.75). The findings highlight the need to improve affordances, contextual information, and the ability to interpret complex data sets. Minor regional differences in usability preferences also emerged, particularly in seasonal analysis and measurement units. By bridging technical advances with practical usability insights, this study contributes to the development of more accessible and effective UDT platforms. The findings inform future design improvements to enhance the adoption of UDTs, ensuring that these tools better support urban planners, policy makers, and researchers in climate adaptation and decision-making processes.