Imagine a world where you and every member of your team could know the real-time status of every bridge, tunnel, dam, or mine site that you manage.
How much safer would your operations be if engineers and operators had a clear view of how those assets are performing right now and could spot potential issues before anyone sets foot on-site? You wouldn’t need to walk the length of a dam or climb across a bridge to check for stress; that insight would come straight to you, in real time.
Evergreen digital twins make that possible.
By combining 3D models with IoT sensor data, evergreen digital twins turn infrastructure into an always-current reflection of reality, helping teams make faster, smarter decisions and keep complex systems running safely and efficiently.
What is a digital twin and why is it important?
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical asset, system, or process. In infrastructure, a standard digital twin provides a detailed model of an asset—such as a bridge, dam, or mine site—capturing it at a specific point in time.
Traditionally, organizations create digital twins by importing reality captures, engineering design data, GIS information, and other static datasets into a digital environment. This type of digital twin is useful for:
- Planning and design: Visualize and explore the asset’s structure, layout, and key components to support design coordination and stakeholder communication.
- Construction and simulation: Visualize construction stages, test what-if scenarios, and evaluate operational or emergency plans before implementing them in the field.
- Operations and maintenance: Use the twin as a reference for inspections, training, and long-term asset management, providing valuable historical context for audits or upgrades.
Take a bridge, for example. A standard digital twin can help teams plan the design, simulate construction stages, and document the finished structure for ongoing maintenance. Even after the bridge is built, the twin can be updated periodically with inspection data or new surveys to reflect changes over time.
For many projects, this level of insight provides everything that’s needed. But for high-risk or safety-critical assets, continuously updated, real-time insights from an evergreen digital twin can be essential to ensure ongoing performance and reliability.
What is an Evergreen Digital Twin?
An evergreen—or living—digital twin is a digital representation of a physical asset that continuously updates in real time. Rather than relying on periodic updates, it pulls in live data from IoT sensors and other connected systems. This means it can:
- Reflect current conditions: Always show the asset as it really is today—not just how it was designed or last inspected.
- Continuously capture real-time performance data: Keep track of changes in movement, stress, pressure, or other key factors as they happen.
- Enable faster, data-driven decisions: Give teams the awareness to detect anomalies early and respond with confidence.
Back to the bridge example: when sensors track movement, vibration, pressure, and strain in real time, the digital twin becomes a living model. Operators see not just how it was built or last inspected, but how it’s performing right now, helping them act before issues escalate.
Standard and evergreen twins are part of the same ecosystem: one provides the foundation; the other builds upon it with live intelligence. Together, they offer both historical context and current awareness—essential for managing infrastructure throughout its entire lifecycle.
How IoT makes Evergreen Digital Twins Possible
If evergreen twins are the brain, IoT is the nervous system that keeps them alive.
IoT sensors and connected devices feed live data into the model, keeping it accurate and actionable. Here’s how:
- Real-time data capture
IoT sensors continuously collect information from assets, measuring things like vibration, temperature, moisture, tilt, deformation, and pressure. This constant stream of data ensures that the digital twin always reflects the asset’s current condition. - Historical context
IoT doesn’t just show what’s happening right now—it creates a record over time. This historical data helps operators spot trends, such as slow wear, seasonal changes, or unusual anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed. - Alerts and early warnings
When IoT data crosses defined limits, like a rise in water pressure or a shift in structural movement, the digital twin triggers alerts in real time. These early warnings give teams the time and context they need to investigate and respond. - Integrated data from multiple sources
IoT brings together data from many sources—structural health, environmental conditions, and operational measurements—into a single, unified twin. This integrated view helps teams make smarter, more holistic decisions.
In short, IoT extends the power of a traditional digital twin, turning it from a standard model into a responsive, adaptive, living system.
Why Evergreen Digital Twins Matter
Every digital twin delivers insight—but an evergreen twin extends that insight across time. For assets that are actively changing, aging, or responding to environmental forces, live data adds a new dimension: continuous awareness of how those assets are performing.
For infrastructure owners and operators, the value of an evergreen digital twin comes down to five key outcomes:
- Enhanced Safety: Continuous monitoring helps identify risks early, whether it’s seepage building within a dam, ground movement in an active mine, or unusual strain on a busy bridge or railway tunnel.
- Improved Reliability: Ongoing visibility into asset performance helps reduce unplanned downtime and keeps assets functioning at their best.
- Operational Efficiency: Real-time insights streamline workflows, reduce inspection costs, and optimize performance.
- Resilience: Evergreen digital twins help infrastructure withstand and adapt to changing conditions, whether that’s extreme weather, shifting ground, or unexpected stress on a structure.
- Sustainability: By reducing manual inspections, optimizing maintenance schedules, and extending the lifespan of assets, evergreen digital twins support more efficient use of resources and greener operations.
The shift from standard to evergreen digital twins isn’t about replacing one with the other—it’s about building on what’s already valuable. Standard digital twins capture how an asset was designed, built, and maintained through periodic updates. Evergreen twins build on that foundation, adding continuous, real-time insight into asset conditions and performance.
The Role of Bentley’s iTwin IoT
iTwin IoT is purpose-built to power evergreen digital twins. By bridging the gap between physical sensors and digital models, iTwin IoT ensures that infrastructure stakeholders can collect, manage, and analyze IoT data at scale.
Some of the ways iTwin IoT enables evergreen digital twins include:
- Sensor integration: From piezometers measuring pore pressure in a dam to extensometers tracking ground movement in a mine, iTwin IoT connects seamlessly to a wide range of IoT devices so data flows without friction.
- Unified data environment: Instead of juggling separate systems, operators see all their information—sensor readings, engineering models, geospatial maps, and more—in one place.
- Visualization and analytics: Intuitive dashboards and 3D visualizations help operators quickly see performance trends and potential risks, whether it’s an engineer monitoring a tunnel lining or a manager tracking stress on a bridge.
- Scalability: Whether it’s a single tunnel project or an entire highway system, iTwin IoT scales to match the scope of the asset.
- Actionable intelligence: Real-time alerts and insights give teams the ability to act early—before cracks widen, slopes shift, or structures weaken.
iTwin IoT doesn’t just connect devices to models—it empowers teams to see and respond to their infrastructure like never before. From live sensor data to intuitive visualizations and early alerts, every twin becomes a continuously informed tool that helps operators protect assets, streamline operations, and make smarter decisions.
Real-world example: New Bullards Bar Dam
One example of an evergreen twin in action is New Bullards Bar Dam in northern California—the state’s second tallest dam. Managed by Yuba Water Agency, it plays a critical role in water supply, power generation, and flood protection for nearby communities.
For years, monitoring the dam relied on manual readings. Crews traveled to difficult locations to check instruments, and results often lagged. That meant limited visibility into real-time conditions.
By adopting iTwin IoT, Yuba Water turned the dam into a living digital twin. Today, sensors embedded in the structure track seepage, uplift pressure, and strain. That data flows instantly into the digital twin, where operators can:
- Visualize the asset in 3D and see live sensor data overlaid directly on the structure.
- Monitor live conditions in real time, from anywhere with internet access.
- Compare current data against historical trends to spot early warning signs.
- Receive automated alerts when thresholds are crossed.
- Share insights quickly across teams for coordinated response.
The impact is profound. Yuba Water now has a digital nervous system for one of its most critical assets—one that strengthens public safety, streamlines operations, and supports sustainable water management. Read more about the New Bullards Bar Dam project on our blog.
The future of living digital twins
As IoT technology advances, evergreen digital twins will become even more powerful. Edge computing, AI-driven analytics, and 5G connectivity will make it possible to process more data, faster, and closer to the source. This will enable even more responsive and intelligent systems.
Digital twins of all types will continue to play a vital role across the infrastructure lifecycle. But as assets become more connected, evergreen twins add a new layer of real-time awareness—helping teams respond quickly to changing conditions. And with tools like iTwin IoT, that next level of insight is within reach.
Ready to extend the power of your digital twin?
iTwin IoT gives teams a continuously updated view of their assets, reflecting real-world conditions moment by moment. This real-time visibility helps operators make faster, more informed decisions and respond confidently to changing conditions.
Curious to see it in action? Take the iTwin IoT interactive tour for a high-level overview. In under five minutes, you’ll get to experience how real-time data and analytics bring digital twins to life.
Gain real-time insights into your infrastructure—anytime, anywhere. Explore how iTwin IoT powers evergreen digital twins across infrastructure assets.
