Weather Synchronization in Digital Twin Environments for Shared VR Experience Using Commercial Metaverse Platforms

Abstract

Digital twin technology creates bidirectional synchronization between physical and virtual environments, yet current implementations fail to provide authentic environmental experiences that enhance user presence in shared virtual spaces. While digital twin environments using commercial metaverse platforms for IoT sensor data visualization have been proposed, translating environmental information into meaningful sensory experiences remains largely unexplored, particularly lacking approaches for weather conditions that significantly influence spatial perception. We developed a weather synchronization system that integrates real-time environmental data from ``The GEAR'' smart building with the Cluster metaverse platform, enabling shared VR experiences with authentic atmospheric immersion. Our system processes temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and solar radiation measurements to generate corresponding virtual environmental effects including dynamic sky rendering, precipitation particles, and ambient audio modulation. Performance evaluation demonstrated practical response times of 0.8-1.0 seconds for weather data transmission and reflection in the virtual environment. This work establishes a foundation for seamless physical-digital space integration, potentially enhancing remote collaboration efficiency and facilitating more dynamic discussions in shared virtual workspaces.