Digital Twin Hobart
Award-winning offline-first Digital Twin for Hobart demonstrating technical innovation in 3D city visualization. Built with Three.js and scalable PMTiles on AWS S3, enabling full functionality without network connectivity.
Event
GovHack / Tasmania
Key Results
GovHack Challenge
Offline Capability
Faster Than Carto
Demonstration
The Challenge
Traditional digital twin solutions require constant internet connectivity, limiting their use in field operations and remote areas where connectivity is unreliable or unavailable.
Key challenges included:
- Dependence on constant network connectivity
- Large 3D datasets difficult to cache locally
- Performance issues with traditional tile servers
- Limited usability in remote field operations
- High hosting costs for tile delivery
Innovation Focus
GovHack challenges participants to create innovative solutions for government and community. Our focus was demonstrating how emerging technologies could enable new use cases for digital twins in field operations.
Offline-First Design
Full functionality without connectivity
3D City Model
Interactive building visualization
Our Solution
We pioneered an offline-first architecture using PMTiles for efficient tile storage on AWS S3, combined with Three.js for 3D visualization. The solution caches all necessary data locally, enabling full functionality in disconnected environments.
PMTiles Architecture
Used PMTiles format to package all map tiles into a single, efficiently seekable archive file stored on S3.
Three.js Visualization
Built immersive 3D city visualization with Three.js, rendering buildings, terrain, and infrastructure.
Service Worker Caching
Implemented service workers to cache PMTiles locally, enabling complete offline functionality.
MapLibre Integration
Integrated MapLibre GL JS for high-performance 2D/3D map rendering with custom styling.
AWS S3 Hosting
Static hosting on S3 with CloudFront CDN for fast initial loads and cost-effective scaling.
Progressive Loading
Implemented progressive loading strategies to prioritize visible data and reduce initial load times.
Technology Stack
Project Impact
Technical Innovation
- Demonstrated PMTiles viability for large-scale deployments
- 60% faster load times compared to traditional tile servers
- Pioneered offline-first digital twin architecture
- Scalable approach applicable to any city
Recognition & Future
- Won GovHack Digital Twin Challenge
- Demonstrated at national GovHack showcase
- Proof of concept for field operations use cases
- Foundation for future government projects