Ghansah, F A and Lu, W (2025) Cyber-physical systems and digital twins for "cognitive building" in the construction industry. Construction Innovation, 25(3), pp. 787-818. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose: Despite the growing attention on the relevance of improved building management systems with cognition in recent years in the architecture, engineering, construction and operation (AECO) community, no review has been conducted to understand the human-environment interaction features of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and digital twins (DTs) in developing the concept of a cognitive building (CB). Thus, this paper aims to review existing studies on CPS and DTs for CB to propose a comprehensive system architecture that considers human-environment interactions. Design/methodology/approach: Scientometric analysis and content analysis were adopted for this study. Findings: The scientometric analysis of 1,042 journal papers showed the major themes of CPS/DTs for CB, and these can be categorized into three key technologies to realize CB in the AECO community: CPS, DTs and cognitive computing (CC). Content analysis of 44 relevant publications in the built environment assisted in understanding and evidently confirming the claim of this study on the integration of CPS and DTs for CB in construction by also involving the CC. It is found and confirmed that CB can be realized with CPS and DTs along with the CC. A CB system architecture (CBSA) is proposed from the three key technologies considering the human-environment interactions in the loop. The study discovered the potential applications of the CBSA across the building lifecycle phases, including the design, construction and operations and maintenance, with the potential promise of endowing resilience, intelligence, greater efficiency and self-adaptiveness. Based on the findings of the review, four research directions are proposed: human-environment interactions, CB for sustainable building performance, CB concept for modular buildings and moving beyond CB. Originality/value: This study stands out for comprehensively surveying the intellectual core and the landscape of the general body of knowledge on CPS/DTs for CB in the built environment. It makes a distinctive contribution to knowledge as it does not only propose CBSA by integrating CPS and DTs along with CC but also suggests some potential practical applications. These may require expert judgments and real case examples to enhance reproducibility and validation.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cognitive building; content analysis; cyber-physical systems; digital twins; intelligent buildings; scientometric analysis; smart buildings |
| Index terms: | building management system, surveying, content analysis, intelligent building, journal, cognition, sustainable building, integration, system architecture, smart building, methodology, reproducibility, validation, computing, digital twin, body of knowledge, publication, modular building, efficiency, judgment, lifecycle, built environment, interaction, construction industry |
| Subjects: | infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, organizational analysis, research evaluation and metrics, professional development, design practice, performance management, data analysis and analytics, project delivery, health monitoring assessment and metrics, computing systems, dispute resolution, mechanical systems, behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, building construction, sustainable construction, research methods, knowledge management, research dissemination and communication, design theory, construction type, digital engineering |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Legal Issues, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Health and Safety, Organizational Design, Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Construction Technology, Information Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here