TNO and Argaleo showcase next-generation real-time city simulation

LABS4U for zero-emission, liveable cities

TNO is advancing its LABS4U initiative, which accelerates data-driven urban innovation and supports the transition toward zero-emission, liveable cities. Within this context, Netherlands-based scale-up Argaleo has integrated TNO’s large-scale agent-based simulation model (LABS) into its Digitwin platform, creating real-time 3D visualisations of complex urban systems.

This development marks an important step in connecting research-driven innovation with market-ready technology. It illustrates how the LABS4U ecosystem brings together science, industry, and public stakeholders to make advanced urban simulations accessible for practical use.

'With LABS we can simulate how people, vehicles and infrastructure interact across time and space. By connecting this with Argaleo’s real-time 3D environment, we are taking the first step toward digital twins that help cities anticipate, not just respond,' says Ralph Klerkx, Team Manager & Predictive Digital Twinning Expert at TNO. 'It demonstrates how Dutch research and entrepreneurship can work hand in hand to make complex urban transitions manageable.'

From research model to living digital twin

The integration combines TNO’s high-performance Agent-Based Simulation engine with Argaleo’s Digitwin environment for interactive 3D visualisation. The LABS4U project focuses on applications in zero-emission urban mobility and energy transitions. Examples include simulating charging-station usage to avoid grid congestion, modelling vehicle and fleet behaviour over time, and exploring interactions between vehicles, infrastructure, and people.

By visualising these agent-based simulations alongside live and historical data, cities can gain new insights into mobility flows, energy demand peaks, fleet electrification, charging infrastructure loads, and how individual “agents” behave in context. This capability brings simulations closer to daily urban operations and policy processes. It represents an emerging shift from analytical modelling toward real-time simulation environments that could evolve into future city control centres, where decision-making and operational management are supported by continuous digital feedback.

'The connection between LABS and our Digitwin platform makes complex simulations tangible and actionable,' says Frank Hommers, CTO of Argaleo. 'By visualising these dynamics in real time, we empower governments and infrastructure managers to explore scenarios, understand the impact of choices, and build more resilient urban systems.'

Future possibilities: toward real-time urban control centres

Looking ahead, the combined LABS and Digitwin capability opens the door to a new class of urban operation platforms. Imagine city control centres that not only monitor but also simulate in real time, allowing operators to test alternative scenarios such as mobility reroutes, charging peak shifts, or energy grid flexibility before taking action.

The close integration of agent-based simulation, live data streams, 3D visualisation, and decision support means municipalities and regions can move from reactive responses to proactive orchestration of urban systems. These platforms could bring together mobility operators, grid managers, public safety teams, planning authorities, and infrastructure owners to coordinate across domains. They would enable dynamic rerouting of vehicles, prioritisation of charging loads, adaptive infrastructure scheduling, and rapid scenario testing in a visually rich twin-city environment.

Fundamentally, the ability to test behavioural interventions, such as shifting fleet charging times or altering mobility patterns, at scale makes the invisible visible and turns complex urban dynamics into actionable insights.