US Manufacturing Firms Embrace Industrial Metaverse Investment
The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently reported that the defense, software, energy, and automotive industries join aerospace as sectors with substantial industrial metaverse investment.
WEF Reports Accelerated Adoption of Industrial Metaverse in US Manufacturing
The WEF observes accelerated uptake of industrial metaverse among the US manufacturing firms. The focus portrays a need to leverage the industrial metaverse to help resolve the complex challenges hindering production cycles.
The WEF publication on Tuesday, March 12, revealed that 92% of the US-based executives within the manufacturing sector admitted exploring ways to integrate metaverse into the firms. The report captures findings from the survey comprising the 100 largest organizations from 10 industries. The WEF study revealed that each manufacturing executive was, on average, considering six use cases.
The WEF demonstrates that a critical factor fueling the increased interest in the industrial metaverse is the sector’s quest to elevate ambitions to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WEF report acknowledges that the recovery from the pandemic saw the emergence of technological, societal, and macroeconomic trends accelerate the pursuit of opportunities to realize growth across the industrial sector.
Industrial Metaverse Increasing Efficiency and Minimizing Cost
The pursuit of new opportunities coincides with the emergence of new challenges, forcing the manufacturing entities to seek means to expedite the production cycles. The objective aligns with the quest for increased efficiency and cost minimization via predictive forecasting.
The WEF report acknowledges how various entities are utilizing the digital twin technology. Also, other companies are leveraging virtual models to replicate physical objects.
Amazon leads other firms by integrating cloud services, such as Nvidia Omniverse, to run simulations. The firm intends to use the simulations to improve the robot workstations and warehouse designs.
Mercedes-Benz confirmed that it would utilize the Nvidia Omniverse platform in design manufacturing assembly facilities. Earlier this month, telecommunication infrastructure provider Nokia confirmed implementing the Metaverse to assist Cessna aircraft technicians within remote Australian airports.
The WEF report highlights the viability of using the industrial metaverse in various production phases. It has proven invaluable in the pre-and post-production stages.
The report credits the industrial metaverse in the execution of product and service design, simulating processes, designing and managing plants alongside product assessment. The real-life applications involving the consumer metaverse are within the development phase.
The industrial metaverse is leading the adoption to solve actual challenges. Also, industrial metaverse adoption is facilitated by the on-ground implementation and business imperatives.
The WEF emphasizes that the vehicle manufacturing and information technology industries are at the heart of the industrial metaverse sector. The report added that automotive, software, and defense are leading in the industrial metaverse investment, where energy and aerospace have raked in substantial activity.
The report acknowledges that some companies are apprehensive about investing more in the industrial metaverse, given the accelerated emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The decline is linked to rising generative AI, prompting several companies to treat it in pursuing metaverse-based investment.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has in the last year ruled out giving up on metaverse despite the accumulated losses running into tens of billions. He indicated that though Meta leans towards investments in AI, it remains fully committed to the metaverse vision. He labeled the two as critical priorities with visible overlaps and complementary attributes.
Metaverse Poses Threats to Creative Arts Industry
The WEF report illustrates that while metaverse is proving to increase efficiency in several sectors, it harbors potential negative impacts on several sectors, particularly within the creative arts industry.
A team of UK researchers indicated that metaverse scrutiny is necessary to facilitate the formulation of approaches to resolve enforcement challenges. Additionally, the researchers called for resolving the governance requirement involving intellectual property issues witnessed in metaverse technology.
The UK researchers illustrated that the inherent resistance of blockchain to change and adjustment undermines the capability of managing and updating IP rights related to the metaverse.
