All of a sudden, the meta universe and numbers have become hot topics in our daily life. These conversations often lead to excitement or fear and discomfort, and some people do not even know what the meta universe is. It is undeniable that science and technology are accelerating at an unprecedented rate, but it is important to understand how these technological advances will directly affect society.

Perhaps one of the most important ways that the meta universe and digital twins change everyone's life is through transportation. Everyone uses transportation in a certain way, shape or form. Whether it's your daily commute, family self drive tour, morning walk, or commodity consumption, the meta universe and digital twins will change the way we use infrastructure, moving from point A to point B forever. It is important to distinguish between the two before deeply studying how the transport sector will be changed by the digital twins.

Metauniverse is a general connection between digital and physical, such as augmented reality, virtual real estate, virtual concert, etc. Digital twins are just building blocks of the meta universe. They act as real-time digital copies of physical objects. For example, in the field of transportation, it is on the edge of creating road digital twins. By collecting real-time data, you can create a virtual copy of the physical road system. The benefits are numerous.

Since the birth of road maintenance, real-time and accurate understanding of what is happening on the road has always been the goal of transportation departments and other institutions.

Imagine that when objects move and change constantly on the map app, the street view of the map app will be updated in real time. The ability to see change when it happens, as well as the ability to see change from anywhere, will drive the unprecedented efficiency and scale of our economy.

AI may be one of the largest players in collecting these real-time data to provide to the digital twins. Artificial intelligence algorithm and photogrammetry can automatically analyze roads. At present, on-site road inspection is done manually, which is time-consuming and expensive. AI can do this for you, instead of sending staff to scan roads and infrastructure to find potential maintenance problems, so that there is more time to solve these maintenance problems.

For example, if a large piece of debris blocks the road, causing the driver to suddenly turn to avoid it, Digital Twin can inform you of the location, size and consequences of the object on the road. This will allow for faster and more efficient removal of debris. It is also important to note how the meta universe has changed the traffic pattern and will continue to change it further.

Teleworking has eliminated morning commutes for many people everywhere, especially since the COVID-19. It even eliminates the need to shop at the grocery store, where delivery services are within reach. With the development of technology, more and more people will no longer need to go to the office, business trip, grocery store or other places. Morning commuting may be a thing of the past. People can participate in virtual meetings and cooperate with people from all over the world. We will be able to order groceries delivered by autonomous vehicle. People only use transportation when they want to relax, not when they need it.

Understanding how people will use transportation in the future is the first step to solve future needs. This change is already taking place, and we must be prepared for future changes. Using digital twins can help people understand how they use infrastructure and predict future behavior. By collecting real-time data and deeply understanding how people move and behave, you can make data-driven decisions about how to change our infrastructure to respond to changes in behavior. Like it or not, the traffic pattern is changing. Whether we choose to embrace the digital road will determine whether our infrastructure is ready.

Many smart cities and countries have visions of digital roads, and measures are being taken to realize these visions. For example, the UK's national highway has developed a plan to achieve a digital twin of the UK's road network by 2050. They will be able to automatically detect the time and location of the pit and other maintenance issues. Digital road will combine artificial intelligence, data flow and other connection methods, and will completely change people's views on road maintenance and management. The use of digital roads on expressways will benefit everyone, from everyday drivers to construction workers and road operators.

The United Kingdom Digital Building Center (CDBB) predicted that the building information model "will be combined with the digital twins and the Internet of Things, so that we can plan the infrastructure more effectively, build the infrastructure at a lower cost, and operate and maintain it in a longer life cycle to obtain better performance."

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Digital road means a safer, more economical and more environmentally friendly future. These are the fundamental reasons for the existence of road management. With the expansion of the meta universe, traffic conditions have changed and will continue to change. It is essential to equip our infrastructure with the meta universe to adapt to these changes. It is clear that our choice is either to embrace this new technological era or to leave behind infrastructure that cannot meet social needs. It is time to make the necessary investments and cooperation to realize this vision.