Key takeaways

• A digital twin is a dimensionally accurate 3D replica of a building or property that can be used as a reference across the building’s lifecycle.

• Creating a digital twin is far simpler than most assume. Any team responsible for a space can capture, edit, and share one without specialized expertise or a large budget.

• With Matterport, you can capture a space using anything from the phone in your pocket to the Pro3 camera or on-demand Capture Services. The finished digital twin becomes one shared record your whole team can reference.

Digital twin technology is a powerful tool across a broad range of industries. Digital twins of buildings give teams a deeper understanding of their physical space across its lifecycle, from initial designs to construction progress, then ongoing building management, maintenance, marketing, and development.

Many teams assume a lifelike virtual copy of a building is an enterprise project that demands sensors, AI specialists, and a big budget. In practice, building a digital twin is a very approachable process. Any team responsible for a space can capture, edit, and share a dimensionally accurate 3D replica quickly, without specialized expertise.

In this article, we'll explore how teams can create their own digital twin and how a digital twin platform like Matterport simplifies the process. Teams across AEC, manufacturing, real estate, and facilities can capture, edit, and share photorealistic 3D scans of their projects and collaborate using these virtual replicas of their properties.

What is a digital twin of a building?

A digital twin of a building is an immersive 3D virtual replica of a physical property. A Matterport digital twin starts as a series of 3D scans captured on site and processed automatically in the cloud. Those scans are stitched into a photorealistic, navigable, and dimensionally accurate model that includes interactive features for measuring, tagging, and sharing. The term digital twin is broad, and can also refer to IoT and systems data layered on top of that visual record.

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Digital twin technology has found applications across many industries. Teams put that shared record to work in different ways:

• Design and construction teams create as-built documentation and carry out progress tracking, following a job site as it evolves.

• Manufacturing and industrial teams document plant layouts and equipment for planning, training, and safety.

• Facilities management and maintenance teams keep asset records current and reduce repeat site visits.

• Commercial real estate teams market and lease space, letting prospects tour remotely.

• Hospitality teams showcase venues and coordinate events or renovations across properties.

• Energy and utilities teams use them to capture complex sites for inspection, compliance, and remote reference.

• Retail teams use them to document store layouts for merchandising and consistency across locations.

• Insurance and restoration teams document property damage and loss conditions to scope, estimate, and settle claims remotely.

Across all digital twin applications, the common thread is creating one shared, accurate record of the space that everyone can reference.

Benefits of creating a digital twin

The biggest benefit of building a digital twin is access to a single source of truth. One shared, dimensionally accurate record replaces conflicting plans, scattered photos, and verbal descriptions, so every stakeholder works from the same information. 

Here are some of the most important benefits teams gain just from creating a visual digital twin, even before any systems are integrated:

• Single source of truth: One record everyone references, which reduces version confusion.

• Objective documentation: Timestamped, consistent captures that are hard to dispute.

• Streamlined project management: Faster starts and timelines, with a shareable, dimensionally accurate model to hit milestones.

• Reduced site visits: Track construction progress without frequent trips, and let remote stakeholders walk the space from a browser.

• Easier communication with clients or operators: Send a client a recent twin, or let operators open one on a floor tablet.

• Smoother handover: A complete record follows the space through the building lifecycle.

• Lower operating costs: Fewer site trips and faster coordination reduce spend.

• Increased sustainability: Fewer trips mean lower travel emissions, and teams can tour remotely.

Together, these benefits make a digital twin a practical tool for running or showcasing any building.

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Building a digital twin in 3 simple steps with Matterport

Building a digital twin might seem complicated and time-intensive, but Matterport simplifies the whole process. Once you pick a capture device like a 360 camera or a smartphone and choose a plan, your digital twin will be ready within 48 hours of capture.

Here are the three simple steps to building a digital twin in Matterport.

1. Capture your space

A variety of cameras can capture a digital twin, even the phone in your pocket. Choose a device by use case: 

• A smartphone or iPad with the Matterport app can work well for quick walkthrough reports

• A compatible 360 camera can be sufficient for marketing materials 

• A professional LiDAR device like the Matterport Pro3 is better suited to precise measurement and scan-to-BIM work

Matterport also offers professional Capture Services in hundreds of cities globally, where a vetted local technician is sent to site on your behalf. That means there's no need to invest in hardware or send a team member to do a scan.

Spaces larger than a typical residential home are good candidates for hiring a service provider, as high-quality DIY or phone capture can be time-intensive. A few habits make a first capture go smoothly:

1. Plan a scan path before you start so you cover the space in order.

2. Open doors and turn on lights so rooms capture clearly.

3. Clear clutter that could block the camera or confuse the model.

4. Keep consistent spacing between scan points for even coverage.

5. Reuse the same scan positions on repeat visits to make comparisons easy.

With a device chosen and a plan in place, a clean first capture is well within reach.

2. Edit and document

Once you've captured your space, the digital twin renders within 48 hours, and you can explore the space as an interactive 3D tour. Choose an active Matterport subscription so you can edit, annotate, and interact as you see fit. A range of tools helps you turn a raw scan into an accurate working record:

• Add annotations, attachments, and points of interest to equipment, issues, or assets using Tags.

• Assign follow-ups and @mention teammates in place using Notes.

• Remove sensitive areas and obscure faces and license plates using the Trim and Blur tools.

• Verify dimensions remotely with Measurement Mode, capturing distances and wall lengths directly from the model.

• Defurnish spaces to digitally remove furniture and other objects.

• Align scans and compare two captures Side-by-Side (public beta).

When you need actionable outputs, you canpurchase add-ons to produce deliverables from the twin, including:

• BIM files with data-rich 3D building models delivered as RVT and IFC

• CAD drawings in DWG format for 2D documentation

• Schematic floor plans with room dimensions

• E57 point cloud files, a standard 3D format most design software opens

• A MatterPak bundle with a colorized point cloud (.XYZ), textured 3D mesh (.OBJ), and other images for import into programs like Revit, AutoCAD, and ReCap

• Matterport Sketch with an automated loss sketch and annotated dimensions for Cotality Claims Estimate

Matterport also integrates directly with design and construction software to fit these outputs into existing workflows. The free Revit plugin imports E57 and BIM files from your account without conversion. On the Enterprise plan, Autodesk Forma and Procore integrations let teams pin RFIs and issues to exact spots. Teams can also push BIM and CAD files into Procore Documents.

Together, these tools make the twin a documented, shareable record rather than a one-time snapshot.

3. Share and collaborate

A finished twin gives clients, operators, and project teams one source of truth they can open on any device, which cuts repeat visits and miscommunication. Matterport makes it easy to share your digital twin with your team, clients, or an entire company, making collaboration simple. For example, a facilities manager can share a tagged twin with an HVAC vendor to scope work before arriving on site.

They can also be added to your real estate or retail website, helping you connect with customers and improve their experience. Tailor the experience of each group using Views; a general contractor might receive the digital twin loaded with punch-list tags and as-built measurements, while the building owner sees a cleaner tour, showing only completed milestones. Meanwhile, role-based permissions keep sensitive data secure.

A twin is most useful when it stays current. Make sure to recapture at key milestones in the building lifecycle, and use Merge Spaces to add new spaces and keep the record up-to-date.

For detailed information on building digital twins with Matterport, check out the Matterport Help Center.

Your first step toward building a digital twin

Building a digital twin is a practical step for any team responsible for a space, at any budget. You can start free with the app on a phone, or scale up to the Pro3 camera or Capture Services as your needs grow.

The best first step is a small one. Pick one active project or facility, capture it, tag the key assets, and share it with one remote stakeholder. From there, you will quickly see where a digital twin saves time and trips.