Human digital twin for long-distance relationships: a scoping review

Li, Q; Kocaballi, AB; Garcia, J

Human digital twin for long-distance relationships: a scoping review

Li, Q

Kocaballi, AB Garcia, J

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Publisher:: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Behaviour and Information Technology, 2025
Issue Date:: 2025-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Li, Q https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7519-5118
dc.contributor.author	Kocaballi, AB
dc.contributor.author	Garcia, J
dc.date.accessioned	2025-08-06T04:30:32Z
dc.date.available	2025-08-06T04:30:32Z
dc.date.issued	2025-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Behaviour and Information Technology, 2025
dc.identifier.issn	0144-929X
dc.identifier.issn	1362-3001
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189260
dc.description.abstract	Human Digital Twins (HDTs), building upon the concept of Digital Twins (DTs), offer transformative potential for seamless human interaction across physical and virtual worlds. This review aims to establish the groundwork for utilising HDTs in Long-Distance Relationships (LDRs) to enrich the quality of human connections over geographical separations. Searching from four academic databases, this paper examines current DT research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and synthesises existing LDR solutions across commercial and research realms, including communication technologies, social media platforms, wearable and tangible interfaces, Extended Reality (XR) and immersive telepresence, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based companions. The findings reveal significant gaps in the research of broad DTs in HCI communities and highlight the limitations of current LDR solutions. To address these challenges, this study envisions HDTs encompassing both microscopic (individual) and macroscopic (dyadic) dimensions, offering a novel approach to enhancing emotional and experiential closeness despite geographical separation. Several potential scenarios for HDT integration in LDRs are presented, demonstrating its capability to enhance LDR interactions.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Behaviour and Information Technology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/0144929X.2025.2523446
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	08 Information and Computing Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Human Factors
dc.subject.classification	3503 Business systems in context
dc.subject.classification	4608 Human-centred computing
dc.subject.classification	5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
dc.title	Human digital twin for long-distance relationships: a scoping review
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	08 Information and Computing Sciences
utslib.for	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Computer Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Visualisation Institute (VI)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/The Trustworthy Digital Society
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/Engineering and IT Related HDR Students
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-08-06T04:30:31Z
pubs.publication-status	Published

Abstract:

Human Digital Twins (HDTs), building upon the concept of Digital Twins (DTs), offer transformative potential for seamless human interaction across physical and virtual worlds. This review aims to establish the groundwork for utilising HDTs in Long-Distance Relationships (LDRs) to enrich the quality of human connections over geographical separations. Searching from four academic databases, this paper examines current DT research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and synthesises existing LDR solutions across commercial and research realms, including communication technologies, social media platforms, wearable and tangible interfaces, Extended Reality (XR) and immersive telepresence, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based companions. The findings reveal significant gaps in the research of broad DTs in HCI communities and highlight the limitations of current LDR solutions. To address these challenges, this study envisions HDTs encompassing both microscopic (individual) and macroscopic (dyadic) dimensions, offering a novel approach to enhancing emotional and experiential closeness despite geographical separation. Several potential scenarios for HDT integration in LDRs are presented, demonstrating its capability to enhance LDR interactions.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189260