Integration of 4.0 technologies towards the creation of digital twins

The crescent utilization of 4.0 technologies in the construction industry is bringing some benefits that can be useful to enhance the relationship between the built environment and the dwellers. One of these technologies is the BIM methodology, which can be utilized to create digital twins of buildings, enriched with data from sensors, and using intelligent processing, to permit an optimized management of the asset and in consequence, a better decision-making process. Currently, the integration of these 4.0 technologies in virtual models of buildings is in the early stages, and still lacking standardization processes to permit the creation of digital twins using BIM, sensor data, and artificial intelligence. For this reason, this research established as objective the comprehension of the current state of the literature regarding the creation of digital twins in the construction industry. A systematic literature review was executed contemplating a bibliometric and bibliographic analysis. The results retrieved 108 papers to be included in the study, considering two databases: Scopus and Web of Science, all of them in full version and in English language. The findings highlighted interoperability as the main issue, the necessity to develop more rapid, specified and secure models, and exhort the scientists to deepen the applicability of the available methodologies in real-world examples, as well as improving their capacitation. This research contributes to expand the comprehension about the integration of 4.0 technologies in the built environment, identifying opportunities and challenges to develop more complex and solid digital twin models.