Industrial Metaverse: a technological quantum leap

The multi-billion-dollar market

Overrated hype or the next big thing? Opinions on the Industrial Metaverse remain divided. But one thing has recently become apparent: This upcoming technology will revolutionize all sectors of industry. Thus, it will be interesting to see how much Metaverse the exhibitors at automatica will present.

Do you feel like taking a stroll in Rome tonight without any travels and CO2 emissions? Or how about meeting other civilizations on distant planets? It’s easy – with a PC and a VR headset. And as fascinating as these experiences may be: The platform offering them, the Metaverse, is still in its infancy. Not just in terms of tourism and time travel. The Industrial Metaverse offers particularly impressive possibilities for industrial environments – from planning and constructing entire factories all the way to ongoing production.

However, a survey conducted by the BITKOM digital association has shown that potential users are still reluctant to make use of this technology: One in three companies considers the Metaverse an important technology of the future, but no more than one in eight has actively looked into practical applications. Meaning: There is a need to take action. Bitkom Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bernhard Rohleder: “Wait and see is not a strategy. German companies should consider possible fields of application and keep an eye on further developments.”

And automatica 2025 is the perfect opportunity to take a round and explore this particular technology. Doing so should create the impression that the Industrial Metaverse might just be the next big thing. Its advantages are just too huge to be ignored. A fictitious scenario impressively demonstrates this.

When the digital twin comes to life

A palletizing robot in packaging line 8 of the Meico biscuit company reports problems. A message is sent to Induverse system integrators who have designed the affected line. Here, a project engineer puts on a VR/AR headset to let his avatar enter the digital twin reflecting the system’s condition in the Metaverse in real-time. All in the virtual space without physically going anywhere.

What’s new is that the twin no longer represents the current system documentation, but shows the system’s condition ‘live’. The engineer’s avatar can move from station to station and is capable of inspecting the robot from any angle without restrictions due to hazard areas while displaying any relevant real-time data and measured values in the VR/AR headset – from energy consumption to the ambient temperature. This facilitates easy and, most importantly, quick root cause analyses.

Metaverse goes industry – right from the outset

This is what the future could be like. However: What seems so easy and convenient in practice requires a huge preparatory effort. The Industrial Metaverse works only if all components have a digital twin and are capable of communicating with each other via standardized data models. Meaning: The system must be designed ‘Metaverse-ready’ right from the onset – based on a platform everyone involved has access to.

It is at this early stage where the advantages start to kick in. Because everyone involved in planning and designing the automated system – and that is lots of people – do not just work with but literally inside the same data model. That significantly speeds up system development and construction while almost entirely ruling out errors resulting from insufficient coordination.

Production prior to system construction

And then there is more: The system can be operated virtually even before construction starts. Thus, its photorealistic digital twin can generate data for the physical twin not yet in existence. That may sound spooky but it works – and significantly lowers the cost of acceptance, commissioning, and other steps. And the technology remains advantageous throughout the entire life cycle of the system. That makes the digital twin the Industrial Metaverse’s key technology.