What is Industrial Metaverse? Examples, Usecases

We all know about the Metaverse in some perspective. Most people only know the metaverse is all about using AR/VR gadgets in theme parks, meetings and game play. But the metaverse is more than that. Metaverse can be split up into three types called consumer metaverse, industrial metaverse, and Enterprise metaverse. 

Here in this blog, we are going to explore the second one as the industrial metaverse has a surprising use case with huge momentum in the upcoming years.
 

What is the Industrial Metaverse?
 

Making use of digital twins, augmented reality and virtual reality to combine physical, digital ecosystems together in the industrial operational process is said to be that. With this, industries can cut down their running cost, improve performance and operational efficiency.

For example, before buying any costly equipment to integrate in their process, they can opt-in for metaverse experience and be able to ensure sustainability. Before adding time and resources to the manufacturing process, they can predict the outcome easily. 

Research on Industrial Metaverse Scope
 

• ABI Research forecast that the industrial metaverse could be worth $100 billion by 2030.
   
• Grandviewresearch made a report on industrial metaverse market size earlier. It was estimated at USD 18.36 billion in 2022 and is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.6% from 2023 to 2030.
   

Industrial Metaverse Examples
 

Unilever - Unilever is using digital twins across their 107 factories by connecting their manufacturing frontline into the boardroom and allowing everyone to interact. People in the frontline can connect to the digital twins and are able to monitor the process in extended reality.

Ecolab - Ecolab is merging their water expertise with digital models and facilitating their customers to consume 300 million gallons of water each year by 2030. Interconnected systems in a digital realm can help them understand the real world problem industries are facing. 

Kawasaki -  Kawasaki is integrating automation processes in their manufacturing pipelines for greater collaboration and speed. “In a world of complete metaverse, all processes from development to design and testing can be executed in a virtual environment” says Ayumi Kishida from Kawasaki Heavy Industries. 

Grupo Bimbo - Grupo Bimbo is building a connected intelligent global network to empower a cognitive value chain. They are reconfiguring their process from logistics to waste management and production lines with the help of industrial metaverse.

Renault Group - Renault group have implanted industrial metaverse in their production hub and continuing at scale. They made a real-time simulation model with customized avatars for every object they are using in their production. Around 20-30% energy consumption is reduced by deploying these new models and helping them achieve zero prone to accidental disasters in the manufacturing process.

Siemens - Siemens partnered with NVIDIA and developed a metaverse platform called “Nvidia Omniverse”. It enables industrial manufacturers to build physical infrastructures in real-time simulation. Companies can create a working model that integrates human approach and AI technology together for better decision making and sustainability.  
 

Use Cases of Industrial Metaverse
 

Virtual Prototyping

Engineers and designers can use the industrial metaverse to create virtual prototypes of products and infrastructures, allowing them to test and refine designs before physical implementation. It facilitates collaborative design reviews, enabling teams distributed across different locations to work together in real-time.

Training and Simulation

Virtual reality simulations in the industrial metaverse can be used for training purposes, allowing staff inside industries to practice complex tasks in a safe and controlled environment. It is particularly valuable for training in hazardous environments, such as chemical plants or manufacturing facilities, where real-world training may pose risks.

Maintenance and Repairs

Technicians can use extended reality functions provided by the industrial metaverse to receive real-time instructions and data while performing maintenance tasks, reducing downtime and improving efficiency. Also, experts can guide on-site technicians remotely using AR, minimizing the need for travel and accelerating problem resolution.

Supply Chain Visualization

The industrial metaverse can provide a holistic view of the entire supply chain, allowing businesses to optimize logistics, monitor inventory levels, and identify potential bottlenecks or inefficiencies. The supply chain is the significant use case going to be adopted by many big corporations in future. 

IoT Integration and Data Visualization

The industrial metaverse can integrate with the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect and visualize real-time data from sensors and devices in the industrial frontline. This data can be presented in a meaningful way, enabling data engineers to build a sustainable model. This helps industries to make better decisions, know predictive maintenance, and optimization of industrial processes.

Quality Control

The industrial metaverse can enhance quality control processes by providing tools for real-time inspection and analysis during the manufacturing process. Augmented reality can be used to overlay digital information onto physical products. It can help in early identification of defects or ensuring that products meet quality standards.

Reducing Carbon Footprint
 

Climate change is the biggest concern every company and people are thinking of at this time. When you make or move anything, you're leaving a carbon footprint behind. That said, even though many multinational corporations have upcoming plans for carbon emission, technology driven transformation is must. To achieve this, the Industrial metaverse is mandatory. 

• The trial and testing phase is carried out in metaverse hence, companies are saving large amounts of carbon footprints in real time. They don’t have to buy and test highly energy consuming machines only for testing purposes.
   
• The industrial metaverse facilitates the digital environment interaction thereby reducing traveling and transportation. Companies can initiate sustainable transportations without compromising the operational efficiency.
   
• Predicting data from digital twins and sensors, companies can predict the technology failures as it can cause a lot of energy consumption. 
   
• Allocating resources in a productive time-schedule can be done by the use of a real-time simulation model. No errors can be spotted in production schedules as it involves data insights in place.

Conclusion

I hope the article outlines the fundamentals of the industrial metaverse,  how it can be used across reality and real-life examples implemented.

Moving forward, Entrepreneurs, Chief Technology officers, CEOs, and Decision makers need to rethink on adopting industrial metaverse in the coming years. The technology is here to stay and aiming to solve sore problems that help us to build a better planet. 

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References

https://www.abiresearch.com/market-research/service/metaverse-markets-and-technologies/

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/industrial-metaverse-market-report

https://www.nokia.com/metaverse/industrial-metaverse