Urban Food Production Digital Twin: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Populations are moving to urban locations and, with the rise in automation in both manufacturing systems and agricultural systems, are increasingly detached from where and how food is sourced and processed. The trend has been for larger and more intense production systems to move beyond the urban boundary that have both environmental as well as social consequences. Technological developments in hardware and software are enabling distributed, small scale, efficient, clean production which can be located within urban boundaries. This research has explored how food production in an urban center for local supply can be modeled using a digital twin. The focus is on a vertical, container farm and the supply to local customers using typical manufacturing and supply chain framing. In presenting the modeling capability and results, the paper brings out the challenges of modeling semi-automated production and opportunities for extending the design of the food system to impact on environmental performance. The paper concludes with consideration of wider application and the social and environmental impacts.