The industrial metaverse digitally maps the real world of work and business and creates opportunities to simulate or test processes and changes. In practice today, the main focus is on virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), as well as mixed reality as a mixed form. As part of Industry 4.0, companies can use these technologies to optimize production facilities, the workshop and logistics. There are a number of examples of this.
In many industrial companies, employees and managers have already been confronted with the AR/VR world. According to a recent survey commissioned by TeamViewer, a quarter recognize its importance. 2,500 randomly selected people who had heard the term metaverse before were interviewed. One in five view the potential of the industrial metaverse as as disruptive as the introduction of the assembly line or, later, robotics.
However, the majority of respondents still have no idea about the industrial metaverse. Nearly 70% are not informed. Large companies such as Siemens, Boeing, Airbus, Deutsche Bahn and Coca-Cola are already using immersive technologies in their production, logistics and training centers.
Prerequisites for entering the industrial metaverse are data glasses (smart glasses) and special software with which these can be connected to the company’s IT infrastructure. The use cases are diverse. For example, service technicians who want to maintain a machine can display virtual objects in their real work environment. This can be instructions, graphic images or other information displayed through the glasses.
This makes machine maintenance simple and efficient, and some activities can also be performed by employees without specialized technical knowledge. Additionally, work on a machine or system can be recorded and played back if it needs to be retained for training, documentation or billing purposes.
The possibility for a specialist to connect to a virtual view from the outside is particularly interesting. This makes technician assignments much more efficient. Problems can be solved without the specialists having to make an extra trip. A single technician with smart glasses on site is enough for several specialists to work in the background on an issue or to help with maintenance.
Photo: PaO_STUDIO – shutterstock.com
“While the consumer-oriented Metaverse attracts people to the virtual world, the industrial Metaverse keeps them in the real world”, differentiates Hendrik Witt, Chief Product Officer at TeamViewer. “However, information is digitized and reality is expanded. For example, factory or warehouse workers see virtual objects, data or instructions through smart glasses and appropriate software. This helps them complete tasks. work process easier and faster.”
Coca-Cola is one of the companies that have explored the possibilities of the industrial metaverse. The company has equipped its warehouse workers with data glasses so they can now do things with two hands and no longer have to carry a tablet with them.
The smart glasses display all the information needed to collect the goods in full view of the employee. The software, which works with voice control, also helps to find the right goods and avoids errors thanks to the automated reading of QR codes at storage locations.
But the industrial metaverse can do even more, as the example of Deutsche Bahn shows. Smart glasses and smart software are used in training centers there. For example, participants can virtually visualize signal boxes or switches. You will learn how to control them, operate them and repair them. It’s easier and faster than on screen and connects virtual technologies to the real world.
With such technology, companies like Deutsche Bahn can train many trainees with very few teachers. Know-how is transferred quickly and easily, and in a scalable way. Coca-Cola and Deutsche Bahn work with mixed reality technologies that use projections of real objects in conjunction with virtual technology.
The Industrial Metaverse has already arrived in many companies. However, some things are still in their infancy, with startup issues and ever-new new features slowing the pace. Nevertheless, the industrial metaverse already brings great benefits. Objects and information displayed can be seen at the edge of the field of vision, they generally do not bother the user too much. Nevertheless, it has not yet been definitively clarified how the long-term use of data glasses affects health and well-being.
For now, however, the opportunities seem to outweigh the risks. Specialists don’t have to travel as much anymore as they can remotely rush to the aid of their colleagues wearing AR glasses and assist with repairs and maintenance tasks. Training can be made more interesting and effective. In the warehouse, people are relieved to be able to grab with both hands. (H v)