Some Industries Are Already Using The Metaverse…Are You?

Faster vaccine testing. Shorter time to market for innovative new medicines. A clearer understanding of side effects for each individual patient. These are developments that could change the face of medicine forever. To help turn this concept of personalized healthcare into reality, Reinhard Laubenbacher from the University of Florida and Indiana University Professor James Glazier are creating a virtual replica of the human immune system — a “digital twin” — to better plan, test and roll out treatments that could revolutionize the future of medicine.

This example is just one of many potential “metaverse” applications: a fusion of the physical and the digital worlds, augmented with new immersive and dynamic human interactions, that’s dramatically changing how businesses, operators of vital societal infrastructure, and public sector agencies operate. Powered by advancements in semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance networks, the cloud, virtual/augmented and extended reality, and 5G/6G connectivity, the metaverse is ushering in a greener, safer and more efficient world.

Revolutionizing industry, starting with digital twins

Some of the metaverse’s greatest potential lies in industrial applications. The industrial metaverse is expected to grow into a $100 billion market by 2030 according to ABI Research. Sectors such as manufacturing, transportation and utilities are already using the industrial metaverse to cut costs, make their operations more efficient and sustainable, and deliver more value to their customers. The industrial metaverse also has immense potential to enhance planning, testing, and operations, leading to better decision making and improved worker safety.

One of the most important early applications of the industrial metaverse is the digital twin: a virtual replica of a physical object, process, or environment. From transportation and utilities to healthcare and defense, industries are using digital twins to accelerate and enhance their operations in a variety of ways.

For example, railway operators can create digital twins of their rail networks to improve capacity planning and scheduling processes, and to inform operational enhancements. Digital twins can also be used to simulate scenarios that would be difficult to test in real life, helping to uncover potential flaws in a new technology or service before it goes live — without incurring unnecessary risks or expenses. Power utilities can use digital twins to model the power grid protection system, simulate changes in the model, run what-if scenarios and based on the results make updates to the real-life protection automation and control systems. Similarly, companies can create and test digital prototypes in the metaverse, avoiding the time, cost and environmental impacts associated with producing physical prototypes.

Better decisions through digitalization

Digital twins can be used to improve decision-making in many different industries. Nokia Bell Labs has partnered with AeroFarms, a global leader in sustainable indoor agriculture, to use drone automation and advanced data analytics to identify any crop anomalies, such as uneven growth and yellow spots, and to predict production yield. This information is then fed into a digital twin of its indoor vertical farm to optimize the use of water, energy and nutrients, resulting in a more sustainable and highly efficient operations environment.

Software company Headwall uses digital twinning to create entirely virtual versions of its customers’ command centers, accessed through an extended reality (XR) headset. The technology gives off-site employees the access, data and situational awareness they need to respond to issues in real-time remotely, with all the same information and control as those physically present in the command center.

Stronger safety through simulations

Mission-critical sectors such as defense and public safety can use the industrial metaverse for training, crisis planning and remotely controlling assets in the field. For example, the metaverse makes it possible to train for emergency what-if scenarios and dangerous incidents that could never truly be simulated in the real world safely, such as cyberattacks, natural disasters or a hazardous waste spill in a factory.

Beyond improved training and onboarding, the industrial metaverse can make day-to-day operations safer for workers. Technologies such as 360-degree immersive live-streaming can be used to improve worker safety and increase situational awareness without any unnecessary risks. In addition, workers can use these video feeds and metaverse digital-physical fusion capabilities to remotely control physical machinery and remove risks from dangerous operations, such as drone-enabled powerline inspections, autonomous hauling equipment in mines, or fire and rescue situations.

Evolving the industrial metaverse and the networks that power it

These examples are only a small sample of what’s being done with the industrial metaverse — and what will be possible in the future. As the industrial metaverse matures, so too will the scale and complexity of digital twinning, making it possible for organizations to create virtual models of entire systems, value chains or even cities, rather than just individual assets or smaller environments as is the case today. The metaverse will unlock a whole new world of rich data and intelligent insights to inform planning and decision-making, boosting operational performance and creating safer workplaces. And in the industrial metaverse of the future, organizations will be able to control the physical world in the virtual world, not just experience it.

To support the development of the industrial metaverse, flexible, high-performance networks providing ubiquitous, robust connectivity are an absolute necessity. These networks need to provide the bandwidth, speed and responsiveness that will serve as the foundation for the metaverse’s evolution. Robust transport networks, edge cloud and interconnected data centers will be required to enable the processing of the massive amounts of data necessary to support mission-critical operations and generate even deeper insights to further optimize operations.

As the industrial metaverse grows both in scale and complexity over the next decade, so too must the networks that power it. Intelligent networks geared for sustainability, efficiency, resilience and agility will be critical to fully realize the enormous potential of the industrial metaverse.

Equally as important is a robust multi-party ecosystem. The successful establishment of the metaverse requires a significant number of new innovations, technologies and applications, which can be delivered only through open innovation. Bringing together an ecosystem of developers, solution and service providers, and network operators will enable collaboration and creativity on an unparalleled scale.

Now is the time for industries to build these partnerships and networks — so we can leverage the industrial metaverse today and lay a foundation for the life-changing applications of tomorrow.