A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) reveals that an increasing number of manufacturing firms in the United States are shifting their focus to the industrial metaverse as a solution to the complex challenges they face during the production cycle.
The report, published on March 12, states that 92% of U.S. manufacturing executives are exploring various ways of implementing the metaverse into their own firms. The survey results were collected from 100 of the largest companies across 10 industries, indicating that, on average, each executive was investigating up to six different use cases.
One of the reasons driving this interest is the need for the industrial sector to “elevate its ambitions” in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Amid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of technological, macroeconomic, societal, and business-to-business (B2B) customer trends are accelerating and converging to create new challenges and opportunities for growth in the industrial sector.”
Manufacturing companies face the challenge of speeding up production cycles while increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness through predictive forecasting.
The report highlighted how different companies are using digital twin technology, which involves utilizing virtual models to represent physical objects. For instance, Amazon has been using the cloud services platform Nvidia Omniverse to run simulations that can improve warehouse design and robot workstations.
Likewise, Mercedes Benz is also using this platform to design manufacturing assembly facilities. On March 1, Nokia, a telecoms infrastructure firm, used the metaverse in Australia to help Cessna aircraft technicians at remote airports.
The report also pointed out that the industrial metaverse can be used across the product life cycle, including pre-production, production, and post-production stages. This technology can be used for various tasks, such as product and service design, process simulations, plant design, management, product testing, and quality assurance.
“Automotive, energy, software and platforms, and aerospace and defense currently lead the way in industrial metaverse investment and activity,” the report stated.
Some companies are becoming reluctant to invest further in the industrial metaverse due to the increasing prominence of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The report has suggested that the metaverse’s declining popularity is partly due to the emergence of generative AI, with many people assuming it has caused the metaverse to take a backseat.