NC State University: The Corner digital twin
Centennial Campus, Raleigh, North Carolina
NC State University's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management teaches facilities and event management with a live digital twin of The Corner on Centennial Campus. NC State's DELTA implemented the project through a 2025–2026 DELTA Exploratory Grant led by associate teaching professor Nathan Williams. Varidx donated and installed connected sensors, including camera analytics that count people in the event area.
The challenge
Students preparing for careers in parks, recreation, tourism and event management needed hands-on experience with live data from a real public space: how many people use it, and how weather, energy use and soil conditions change.
What was deployed
- Varidx camera analytics counting people in The Corner's event area. Analysis runs on the camera; only counts are collected.
- Connected sensors for weather, energy use and soil moisture, donated and installed by Varidx and See Insights
- A detailed 3D model of The Corner, built by DELTA from photo and drone scans
- A public website for the digital twin, linked from signs at The Corner
How it is used
- Students in PRT 250, Facilities Management in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Event Management, study the twin before building 3D models of other sites.
- Live occupancy shows when the space is busy or quiet, which informs event scheduling, staffing and programming.
- Visitors explore the twin on a website linked from on-site signs.
Read the NC State DELTA News feature