Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twin Technologies for Smart and Sustainable Built Environments

Dear Colleagues,

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Twin (DT) technologies is transforming how systems within the built environment and smart cities are designed, operated, and maintained. With the rapid growth of big data generated from sensors, drones, IoT devices, and structural monitoring systems, AI-driven digital twins are enabling real-time diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and data-informed decision-making across infrastructure and urban systems. This Special Issue aims to bring together pioneering research that leverages AI, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cognitive computing to improve the resilience, safety, and sustainability of the built environment. Topics of interest include digital twin development and validation, AI-powered structural health monitoring, multimodal data fusion, autonomous inspection using UAVs and robotics, and intelligent asset management. This issue seeks to advance the convergence of big data analytics, IoT, and cognitive computing toward the realization of next-generation smart cities and sustainable built environments.

This Special Issue will serve as a collaborative platform on which researchers and practitioners may share innovations, address current challenges, and shape future directions in AI-driven digital twin and IoT applications for the built environment. We welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and case studies that highlight AI’s potential to transform civil infrastructure for a sustainable future. 

Dr. Woubishet Zewdu Taffese
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Big Data and Cognitive Computing is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.