Decentralized Data Management in AEC: NFT and Digital Twin for Enhanced Data Sharing – dDT Platform

The sustainable and efficient management of the built environment is a crucial challenge in the increasingly digitalized AEC sector. Innovative technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twin (DT) offer significant opportunities to enhance the operational efficiency and sustainability of physical assets. However, digitalization generates vast amounts of Big Data, and their handling through centralized architectures leads to risks of fragmentation, lack of transparency, and vulnerability to manipulation. In response to these challenges, this study presents an innovative Proof of Concept (PoC) that integrates Blockchain (BT), Digital Twin (DT), and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) technologies to promote decentralized and sustainable data management in the construction industry. The application, called dDT (decentralized Digital Twin), was initially deployed on the Solana blockchain and later integrated with Polygon to leverage EVM compatibility and the ERC-721 standard for NFTs. The platform enables the tokenization of data flows generated by physical assets, ensuring traceability, security, and transparency throughout the entire asset lifecycle. The dDT system represents a sustainable innovation as it creates a secondary data market, fostering collaboration among industry stakeholders and financing new developments through the sale of data-linked NFTs. This decentralized solution addresses fragmentation and transparency issues, promoting more secure, resilient, and sustainable data management practices. The PoC demonstrates how the integration of BT, DT, and NFT can accelerate the transition toward more efficient and innovative practices, with positive impacts on sustainability and technological advancement in the AEC sector.