Digital Twins and Extended Reality: Opportunities and Challenges of Integrated Applications

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, along with the digital heritage sector, is increasingly harnessing the transformative potential of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). These technologies, paired with advanced digital visualization tools, greatly enhance the value of digital models, providing dynamic and interactive representations of complex built environments. Architects and researchers are now able to produce highly detailed digital models that span both historical and modern architecture, as well as infrastructure, archaeological sites, and museums. Leveraging innovative techniques such as scan-to-BIM, HBIM, BIM-to-FEA, and CoSim, they convert raw 3Dsurvey data (point clouds) into comprehensive, information-rich digital models. Interoperability and seamless data sharing are crucial for developing digital models that can be used across a wide range of applications, including restoration, construction design, energy analysis, cost estimation, and virtual representation. However, despite significant advances, current digital models often lack the interactivity and immersion required for meaningful engagement. Acontext-sensitive approach is essential to accurately capture geometries, levels of detail (LOD–LOA), and construction features, ensuring that each element aligns with the intended purpose of the digital twin (DT). Integrating VR and AR with digital twin technologies can bridge these gaps, enhancing the practical application of 3D models across various fields, from building lifecycle management to virtual tourism. Drones—both indoor and outdoor—play a pivotal role in data acquisition, particularly for hard-to-reach or damaged areas. By combining aerial survey data with ground measurements, drones create accurate 2D and 3D models, essential for conservation, restoration, and reuse projects. These models can be continuously updated throughout a building’s or site’s lifecycle, becoming indispensable tools for managing, monitoring, and simulating conservation activities. They serve as vital resources for professionals, including surveyors, archaeologists, architects, conservators, engineers, and facility managers. Additionally, digital models captured through photogrammetry or LiDAR offer public engagement opportunities, with immersive VR and AR experiences that allow for the remote exploration of heritage sites, raising awareness of their historical and architectural significance. This collection highlights the innovative approaches and practical applications aimed at professionals in documentation, surveying, digitization, visualization, and simulation, with a focus on addressing complex scenarios in architecture, engineering, and heritage preservation.