First Digital Twin of a village in Germany using 5G technologies.
The aim of this project is to adapt 5G-based applications from urban environments so that they can be successfully transferred to rural regions. The goal is the realisation of a common digital integration platform that improves the quality of life of citizens in rural areas on the one hand and on the other hand increases the attractiveness of villages as a whole. The following serves as a use case in the project is the village of Etteln in the municipality of Borchen. It has a population of 1,850 and is located 10 kilometres from the regional center of Paderborn.
Existing 5G applications are to be transferred from various urban areas to rural areas as part of the project. To this end, use cases must be analysed, concepts developed, and successful 5G applications in the urban environment adapted to the needs of citizens in rural areas, and finally the added value of these solutions evaluated. On the one hand, the project uses the possibilities of the new mobile communications technology, which has been available in Etteln since the end of 2021, and also contributes to the digital participation of the citizens in the village. In addition, the village will become more resilient to environmental changes and pandemics, as we have been experiencing since February 2020.
The holistic approach of the project supports its innovative character. The Open Data platform, as well as the use of open-source, standard interfaces and data models prevents the realisation of data silos and allows for easy transferability to other places in the rural area. In the project, the experiences and results (i.e., best practices and lessons learned) will be actively thus supporting Etteln’s claim to be a digital model village. For this purpose, the project, a step-by-step approach is chosen: First, the experiences and solutions from Etteln will be shared with other Borchen communities as a blueprint, before subsequently communities in the region will be addressed and, finally, a nationwide transfer will take place.
