On Wednesday, RealWear hosted its “Welcome to the Industrial Metaverse” roundtable discussion on LinkedIn, where extended reality (XR) industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of Industry 4.0.
Chris Preimesberger, Editor and Writer at ZDNet and VentureBeat, led the keynote with industry representatives Indranil Sircar, CTO of Manufacturing Industry at Microsoft, Andrew Chrostowski, CEO and Chairman of RealWear, Brian Vogelsang, Senior Director of Product Management in AR at Qualcomm, and John Fan, CEO and Chairman of Kopin.
The talks featured multiple perspectives on Industry 4.0, where speakers explored how on-site management teams can use solutions to refine workplace procedures such as training and auditing.
Speakers also explored how potential interoperable Metaverse services could enhance workplace efficiency amid a market shift in focus from fragmented consumer-end products.
Speakers noted that open and interconnected Metaverse platforms combine the best of real-world and immersive collaboration to create an invaluable industrial solution.
Chrostowski added,
“The industrial Metaverse will be a subset of coming standards where real-world work can be accomplished in conjunction with digital assistance from 3D models, AI, avatars, [remote] collaborators [and others]”
He explained the potential of industrial Metaverse content, which could allow management or training teams to roll out assistive immersive content to frontline workers on-demand.
Unifying Emerging Technologies for Improved Outcomes
Metaverse platforms contain the power to connect Web 3.0 assets, environments and experiences under one unified hub, giving employers immersive tools to enhance operations.
Chrostowski continued, stating,
“Think of the difference between our internet experience today, and what it was in the beginging before browsers and powerful searches”
Vogelsang, who leads Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces program, explained that the required immersive technologies exist and can assist industrial firms in daily procedures.
To create successful industry-ready Metaverse services, groups must combine elements that reflect growing industry 4.0 adoption.
The senior director explained further, stating, that the foundation of the industrial Metaverse is based on a number of digital transformation technologies and trends that “work together to create better outcomes for industrial enterprise. ”
One is connecting everything in the industrial enterprise through IoT and private 5G networks, creating digital twins, and using machine learning for predictive maintenance.
[Another is] using augmented and virtual reality for consuming information spatially and simulating/or enhancing our physical realities digitally, and 3D mapping and localisation technology which can spatially organise information and experiences.
Solving the Skill Gap Crisis with Immersive Technology
Industrial metaverse solutions create a unique form of digital transformation that offers management teams a hands-on approach when supervising frontline workers.
According to Fan, companies adopting XR provided significant benefits to employees, adding the industrial Metaverse would provide “a lot of productivity gains, reduced time to perform certain tasks, high accuracy, reliability, and reduced energy costs.”
Furthermore, Chrostowski explained how industrial XR solutions provide a human-first approach to Industry 4.0 to ensure the best result for customer, or worker, satisfaction.
By establishing an industrial Metaverse, workers retain control over their future by learning new emerging skills. Additionally, digital transformation services give a chance for frontline workers to familiarise themselves with current on-site conditions by using engaging, immersive solutions.
Chrostowski added:
“The real mission of the industrial Metaverse is solving the skilled labour gap issue that we have, a persistent problem for the industry for decades. When you think about the industrial Metaverse, I think of a more human-centric approach to solving the problem than just pure automation. Automation is going to be there, but we (RealWear) think that the industrial Metaverse provides a mechanism for the human to part of the nexus of control”
RealWear powers many industrial firms by offering various immersive tools such as the RealWear Navigator 500 Assisted Reality headset to streamline data sharing and remote guidance.
Currently, RealWear works with partners covering a range of verticals, including companies like Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv, Microsoft, and Lenovo, among many others.
