Title: The application of cloud and IoT-based architectures for digital twins in smart cities: a bibliometric study

Authors: Mindong Zhu; Mehdi Darbandi; Habibeh Nazif; Faradillah Amalia Rivai

Addresses: School of History and Culture of Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China ' Pôle Universitaire Léonard de Vinci, Paris, France ' Department of Mathematics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Accounting, Future Technology Research Center, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, 123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan, China

Abstract: Due to the swift advancement of the IoT and global cloud computing, various sectors have progressively transitioned towards a contemporary society characterised by intelligence. These technologies have gradually permeated the realm of smart cities and addressed urban problems that develop due to enhancing urbanisation without establishing policies that focus on well-being. Because of their importance in many fields, this work aims to present a thorough understanding of the longitudinal state and knowledge structure of cloud- and IoT-based infrastructures for digital twins (DT) in smart cities. The present investigation uses bibliometric analysis to explore the growing trend of dynamic publications associated with the advanced technologies integrated into DT in smart city publication productivity. 2,500 publications from 22 journals between 2013 and 2023 are carefully evaluated to reveal the current trend of cloud and IoT research topics. The results indicate the importance of cloud and IoT-based architectures for DT in smart cities.

Keywords: cloud computing; internet of things; IoT; smart cities; digital twins; DT; bibliometric review.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2025.148265

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2025 Vol.26 No.3, pp.257 - 290

Accepted: 18 Jun 2024
Published online: 01 Sep 2025 *

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