# Human Digital Twin: A Survey

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.05937 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.05937/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 12 Dec 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Generative AI-Driven Human Digital Twin in IoT-Healthcare: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13699/) (2024)
- [ComBodied Agents: a New Paradigm of Human-Centric Agentic AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.10915/) (2026)
- [Integrating Personality into Digital Humans: A Review of LLM-Driven Approaches for Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16457/) (2025)
- [SYN-DIGITS: A Synthetic Control Framework for Calibrated Digital Twin Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07513/) (2026)
- [Fully Data-driven but Interpretable Human Behavioural Modelling with Differentiable Discrete Choice Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.19403/) (2024)
- [Towards the "Digital Me": A vision of authentic Conversational Agents powered by personal Human Digital Twins](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.23826/) (2025)
- [Distributed Human Identity: AI-Enabled Multi-Existence Through Cognitive Replication and Robotic Embodiments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.16336/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Digital twin has recently attracted growing attention, leading to intensive research and applications. Along with this, a new research area, dubbed as "human digital twin" (HDT), has emerged. Similar to the conception of digital twin, HDT is referred to as the replica of a physical-world human in the digital world. Nevertheless, HDT is much more complicated and delicate compared to digital twins of any physical systems and processes, due to humans' dynamic and evolutionary nature, including physical, behavioral, social, physiological, psychological, cognitive, and biological dimensions. Studies on HDT are limited, and the research is still in its infancy. In this paper, we first examine the inception, development, and application of the digital twin concept, providing a context within which we formally define and characterize HDT based on the similarities and differences between digital twin and HDT. Then we conduct an extensive literature review on HDT research, analyzing underpinning technologies and establishing typical frameworks in which the core HDT functions or components are organized. Built upon the findings from the above work, we propose a generic architecture for the HDT system and describe the core function blocks and corresponding technologies. Following this, we present the state of the art of HDT technologies and applications in the healthcare, industry, and daily life domain. Finally, we discuss various issues related to the development of HDT and point out the trends and challenges of future HDT research and development.