Digital twins can help transform how we plan, operate and decarbonise transport systems — but only if they work for the people who need to use them.

Join this week’s Gemini Call with Professor Guy Walker from Heriot-Watt University for a timely session on human factors in transport digital twins, hosted by Connected Places Catapult as part of the TransiT Digital Twinning for Transport Decarbonisation programme.

As transport systems become more complex, connected and data-driven, digital twins are increasingly being used to support planning, operations and coordination across organisations and infrastructure systems. But technical capability alone is not enough. To deliver real impact, digital twins must be usable, trusted and embedded into everyday decision-making.

This session will explore how human factors can unlock the value of digital twins for transport decarbonisation. Guy will examine how people behave within transport systems, how they interact with models, interfaces and outputs, and what organisations need in order to use digital twins effectively.

Why attend?

Digital twins risk being under-used, mistrusted or side lined if they do not reflect the realities of human behaviour, organisational capability and operational decision-making. This session will show why people are not just end users of digital twins, but a critical part of whether they succeed. Attendees will gain insight into how human-centred approaches can support adoption, improve trust, strengthen safety and help digital twins deliver practical value for transport decarbonisation.

What you’ll learn

• How human factors can enable digital twin-driven transport decarbonisation
• Why human behaviour needs to be considered within transport digital twin design
• How personas can help make complex human behaviour more “machine readable”
• What human factors mean in a transport digital twin context — and what they are not
• How people interact with digital twin models, interfaces, outputs and decisions
• What skills, capability and organisational readiness are needed to use digital twins effectively
• Common barriers to trust, uptake and use — and how they can be addressed
• What good looks like in practice for effective, human-centred digital twins

Who should attend?

This session is ideal for digital twin practitioners, transport planners and operators, infrastructure owners, human factors specialists, policymakers, technology providers, researchers and anyone working to make digital twins more useful, trusted and impactful in real-world transport settings.

About the speaker

Professor Guy Walker is from Heriot-Watt University and is involved in the TransiT Digital Twinning for Transport Decarbonisation programme. His work explores the role of people, systems and human factors in shaping safer, more effective and more usable transport technologies.

Register now for free to discover how human-centred design can help digital twins move from technical possibility to practical impact in transport decarbonisation.

Part of the weekly Gemini Call series, hosted by Digital Twin Hub and Connected Places Catapult.

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