Digital Twins Repo ︎ Future of Work ︎ AI
Digital Twins Repo ︎ Future of Work ︎ AI
Digital Twin Repo: Reimagining Remote Work for the Future
Intel Design Fellowship Project
The COVID-19 pandemic permanently reshaped the way we work, pushing companies and professionals toward remote and hybrid work models. As part of my Intel Design Fellowship, I conducted research on the future of remote work to understand how white-collar professionals adapted post-pandemic. Based on my findings, I designed a Digital Twin Repository (DTR)—a prototype that allows remote workers to organize, interact, and attend meetings using digital twins in the metaverse.
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Type
Interaction Design and Research
Contribution
Team
Ken Anderson – Head UX Researcher
Tom Hoy – Stripe Partners UX Researcher
Mikaela Watson – Product Design Mentor
Platform
Desktop
Interaction Design and Research
Contribution
- UX Research – Conducted user interviews to understand remote work challenges.
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Foresight & Trend Analysis – Explored emerging technologies that could shape the future of work.
- Interaciton & UI Design – Designed the Digital Twin Repo prototype, focusing on usability and engagement.
Team
Ken Anderson – Head UX Researcher
Tom Hoy – Stripe Partners UX Researcher
Mikaela Watson – Product Design Mentor
Platform
Desktop
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Challenge
Challenge
While remote work provided flexibility, it also introduced new challenges that professionals continued to struggle with, even post-pandemic:
The goal of this project was to reimagine how remote professionals interact with their work, their teams, and their digital environment in a way that felt more immersive, intuitive, and connected.
- Disjointed Communication – Workers found it harder to replicate spontaneous office interactions, leading to less collaboration.
- Overwhelming Digital Workspaces – Remote workers had too many disconnected apps and tools, making organization difficult
- Lack of Presence & Engagement – Video calls felt impersonal, reducing team connection and collaboration.
The goal of this project was to reimagine how remote professionals interact with their work, their teams, and their digital environment in a way that felt more immersive, intuitive, and connected.
(02)
The Research Process
The Research Process
To gain deeper insights, I conducted user research with white-collar professionals who had transitioned to long-term remote work.
What I did:
What I did:
- 1:1 User Interviews – Spoke with 10 professionals across different industries about their experiences.
- Surveys – Collected quantitative data on remote work pain points.
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Competitive Analysis – Studied platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams to identify gaps.
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Future Scenario Mapping – Explored trends in AI, virtual presence, and digital twins to anticipate future needs.
Key Findings:
Based on these insights, I conceptualized a Digital Twin Repository—a tool that helps remote workers organize their workspaces, schedule interactions, and attend meetings as digital representations of themselves.
- Workers crave a more natural way to interact remotely—something beyond Zoom and Slack that mimics real-world presence.
- Current tools are fragmented—people juggle multiple apps but want a unified system to organize meetings, files, and interactions.
- Engagement drops in virtual settings—passive video calls don’t create the same sense of presence as in-person meetings.
Based on these insights, I conceptualized a Digital Twin Repository—a tool that helps remote workers organize their workspaces, schedule interactions, and attend meetings as digital representations of themselves.
(04)
Final Solution: The Digital Twin Repo (DTR)
Final Solution: The Digital Twin Repo (DTR)
The Digital Twin Repo is a prototype designed to enhance remote collaboration by integrating digital twin technology.
Key learnings & Reflections
- Personalized Digital Twin – Each worker has a digital twin (a visual avatar or AI-assisted model) that can attend meetings, organize files, and interact with others.
- AI-Driven Organization – DTR intelligently categorizes meetings, notes, and files in a way that reflects the user's workflow.
- Interactive Workspaces – Users can enter a shared digital environment that feels more immersive than static video calls.
- Seamless Meeting Presence – If a user is unavailable, their digital twin can still attend, take notes, and summarize key points.
Key learnings & Reflections
- Remote Work is Still Evolving – Even years after the pandemic, professionals are still adjusting and adapting to new hybrid models.
- Digital Presence Needs to be More than Just Video Calls – Future tools should focus on interactive, AI-driven, and spatial experiences.
- Prototype Testing is Key – Early feedback suggested that a low-friction, AI-assisted approach would be more widely adopted than fully immsersive VR solutions.
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