Cottbus starts revolutionary 3D measurement for digital city models!

Cottbus starts revolutionary 3D measurement for digital city models!

Cottbus, Deutschland - in Cottbus has started an extensive project for recording the entire public transport space since July 3, 2025. The aim of the initiative is to create a digital twin of the city, which is intended to simplify and accelerate administrative tasks. The vehicles are equipped with state-of-the-art 3D cameras that capture the streets, paths, traffic lights, traffic lights, street signs, street furniture and even plants. The recordings are automatically anonymized so that people and vehicle license plates are made unrecognizable, and are only intended for the internal use of the city administration. The entire trip will take about four weeks and costs around 160,000 euros, of which the city of Cottbus only bears 10 %. The majority of the costs are covered by the "Smart City" funding program.

The information about the project in Cottbus matches the current trends of urban management. A similar digital model is already successfully used in many cities, such as Kassel. There, a 3D city model enables the urban data to be visualized and urban planning processes considerably simplified. Citizens can access the data to carry out calculations and explorations. Kassel started building his model 15 years ago and gradually developed it.

digital twins as important tools

The term "digital twin" has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially in connection with Industry 4.0. These are digital images of real objects that are also applied to urban areas. These digital urban twins include 3D models, real-time data and analysis tools that are invaluable for the planning and design of buildings and quarters. They not only enable a comprehensive inventory of the current state, but also allow different “what if” scenarios to test virtually.

• digital twins help to analyze and simulate the resulting conditions.
• urban 3D models contain all urban objects and are hierarchically structured.
• CityGML is the international standard for modeling and management of these 3D models.

For cities like Cottbus and Kassel, digitization is not only a fashion designer, but a backbone for the optimal organization of the city administration. The example of the solar potential analysis in Munich shows how 3D models can be used not only in urban planning, but also in the analysis of energy efficiency. The use of semantic 3D city models is becoming increasingly essential to enable intelligent, sustainable and effective urban planning.

With the purchase of the measuring vehicles in Cottbus and the progress in other cities, those responsible are looking forward to a future in which digital models revolutionize urban planning and thus contribute to smarter cities. The comprehensive data collection can not only optimize existing plans, but also pave the way for new creative solutions in urban development.

In the coming years, this initiative could be a blueprint for many other cities in Germany and beyond. The future of urban planning is digital, and the cities that are now taking the step in this direction will later harvest the fruits of their work.

For more information about the projects in Cottbus, you can read this post by rbb24. If you are interested in the 3D city model in Kassel, you will find more details on the official Kassel website. For a comprehensive overview of digital twins in urban planning, visit the page of Treffpunkt municipality.