PROJECT

Citiverse

European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (2024–2026) - one of the four flagship projects co-funded by the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme.

Have you ever wished you could "preview" your day in the City?

Introducing:
European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (2024–2026)

Most of us use Google Maps to find a restaurant. But for a parent pushing a heavy double-stroller, a person using a wheelchair, or a neurodivergent person overwhelmed by loud, crowded spaces, a simple "blue line" on a map might not be enough. Families with a family member with a disability might need to know: Is the elevator working today? Is the sidewalk too narrow? Is that plaza going to be echoed with loud music?

For these citizens, city life remains unpredictable. Traditional smart city solutions often optimize traffic for cars but fail to provide a person in a wheelchair with the predictability needed to find a working elevator or navigate a sensory-friendly route.

Digital twins for urban environments have entered their second decade of focused research, transitioning from a conceptual idea in the early 2000s to a rapidly evolving practical tool in the 2020s. Research interest increased dramatically starting around 2017–2018, evolving from static 3D visualizations to dynamic, AI-integrated models capable of real-time simulation and prediction. As this field expands across varied domains like urban planning, environmental data, energy, and transportation, definitions frequently differ between organizations, ranging from simple 3D visualizations to autonomous systems requiring bidirectional, real-time data exchange.

The European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (CU) project mission is to strengthen inclusiveness and set up a scalable model for other cities using AI and Local Digital Twin technology

The project is about social innovation, finding new ways to solve complex challenges and designing environments, both physical and digital where everyone belongs.

Our project stands as one of four flagship EU initiatives designed to bridge the gap between complex urban data and citizen needs, operating in a field that is still young and where definitions often vary between organizations.
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The other three sister projects contribute to the broader ecosystem through specialized lenses: 3DxVERSE focuses on energy and sustainability by simulating green neighborhoods and hydrogen-powered homes; SENSE uses immersive technology to preserve historical heritage and strengthen a sense of belonging; x-CITE empowers citizens to participate in urban planning through interactive 3D tools.

The Challenge

The key challenge the project seeks to address is twofold: first, to support the transition from a 3D map toward the much more ambitious standard implied by the “Citiverse” vision; and second, to ensure that this technological development is grounded in Universal Design principles and actively advances accessibility.

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In response to these gaps, the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (CU) project was launched to explore how accessibility can become a primary driver of urban innovation and to test this approach through a prototype developed in a real-life environment.

How do we contribute to the challenge?

The CU project operates through four development streams designed to support a "Digital Right to the City":

Inclusive Design

A universally designed prototype tested by diverse user groups. We started to design from the edges and understand what the users needed.

"Digital Twin as a Service" (DTaaS)

Gothenburg Arena as a testbed where users will be invited to virtually explore the venue before visiting, with the purpose of reducing environmental anxiety.

AI & Sensory Mapping

Throughout the user research the partner ”Our Normal Association” started to map the specific sensory requirements of the users which might be feasible to become features for our prototype. The prototype has integrated indoor and outdoor navigation accounting for sensory and physical barriers.

Business Development roadmap

Led by Iceberg Plus, this work focuses on how we could transfer the findings from our research and what Business Plan supports the CU prototype to become a sustainable, long-term urban service.

European Scalability

AI interfaces compatible with European MIMs Plus standards. A roadmap for all EU cities to adopt these inclusive standards.

About the consortium

Co-funded by the EU’s Digital Europe Programme, the CU project brings together a specialized consortium of 12 partners with diverse expertize:

Sweden: The City of Gothenburg (project owner), Lindholmen Science Park (technical coordinator), Göteborg & Co, Our Normal Association, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Kokokaka and Virtuell Design

Finland: Younite AI

Romania: Iceberg Plus and The Point Labs

Bulgaria: GATE Institute

Netherlands: University of Twente

The following partners are associated with the project: Kungsbacka municipality, School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, Region Västra Götaland, YRGO, Digital Twin Cities Centre at Chalmers University of Technology.

Third party partner: Nvidia

How does our Iceberg Plus team contribute?

Iceberg Plus, is leading the Business Development (Work Package 5) for the Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (CU) project. Our job is to research how inclusive digital twins contribute to the cities of the future. We are focusing on four key goals:

Building Partnerships

We are setting up the rules and agreements that bring partners together for dissemination, scalability and future replication.

Researching the current market landscape on municipal digital twins and exploring the market potential of digital twin based accessibility solutions: Together with our partners we ran a market research analysis to understand the stakeholders’ (companies, startups, municipalities etc.) demand and needs from inclusive digital twin based solutions and DTaaS.

We also planned to identify the main gaps and challenges in the EU cities in terms of adoption.

Growing a Network Based on Real Human Experiences

We are expanding our circle of collaborators by using direct insights from users (WP 2) and market research (WP5). Through project dissemination events, we ensure that the findings from our research can be applied to other European cities and organizations.

Creating Business Roadmap

We are building a clear commercial strategy for the prototype. Our goal is to understand how to turn the prototype into a lasting product and/or service(s).

Connect & Collaborate

Municipalities Innovation Department representatives | NGOs or Professionals focused on accessibility | Policy Makers | Business sector | Startup sector

Do you want to understand the business potential of municipal digital twins or how you can increase accessibility in your city?

Write to Loredana Gavrilescu, Business Development Lead, to start the conversation: loredana.gavrilescu@iceberg.plus

Looking ahead...

Looking toward 2027, the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (CU) project is evolving from a localized pilot into a definitive continental blueprint for the next generation of urban life.

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We are setting a new European standard where the digital twin solutions of tomorrow might be inclusive by design and accessible to all by default.