Generative AI Will Architect Industrial Metaverse, Leaving Humans to Explore and Thrive

The industrial metaverse is often regarded as a futuristic concept and frequently employed as a marketing buzzword. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the metaverse will soon be an integral part of our reality. But how can we create a 3D digital environment for all objects and surroundings? How can avatars communicate in real time and interact with the replicated environment?

These are valid questions, and the answer lies in the rapid advancements of generative AI. This cutting-edge technology is capable of producing rich content, such as auto-generated 2D images and videos. In the near future, generative AI is expected to be trained to design 2D drawings for projects, create realistic 3D models for assets, and render them with a high level of fidelity. Eventually, it will enable 4D simulations that can be experienced in real-time.

As generative AI continues to progress, it will play a pivotal role in the rapid development of the industrial metaverse, transforming the way we interact with digital environments and revolutionizing industries across the board. The future is closer than you might think, so keep an eye out for these groundbreaking advancements.

Digital Senses

The industrial metaverse is not merely a single technology; rather, it represents an integrated ecosystem where various emerging technologies converge to deliver an immersive, real-time experience involving individuals, objects, and facilities. Digital technologies for an asset or facility can be compared to human senses in that they serve as crucial means to collect, process, and interpret information from the surrounding environment, ultimately helping to improve integrated operations. Just as human senses work in harmony to provide a comprehensive understanding of our environment, digital technologies should be seamlessly integrated to interact and exchange information for optimal results.

The Industrial Metaverse is a digital ecosystem that integrates advanced technologies like Digital Twin, virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and IoT to create interconnected, immersive, and collaborative virtual spaces for industries. This transformative platform enables businesses to simulate real-world scenarios, optimize processes, enhance collaboration, and streamline supply chain management. It fosters innovation, reduces operational costs, and increases productivity, empowering companies to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. 

So, what is Industrial metaverse?

The #industrial metaverse combines physical-digital fusion and human augmentation for industrial applications and contains digital representations of physical industrial environments, systems, assets and spaces that people can control, communicate, and interact with.

 is it a digital twin?

I did ask the same question to my LinkedIn connections:

Indeed, the industrial metaverse can be seen as an expanded version of the digital twin concept. However, it is important to note that the definition of a digital twin varies significantly depending on who you ask. This is not only acceptable, but also expected for the industrial metaverse, as it is a groundbreaking platform with a multitude of use cases and does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution. So, how can we refine the understanding of the industrial metaverse and its potential impact on the future of Energy industry?

The industrial metaverse holds the potential to revolutionize various industries, including the energy sector, by offering enhanced immersive collaboration, design review, immersive training, remote monitoring, and remote maintenance and operations of assets. By providing a real -time virtual platform for collaboration, the industrial metaverse enables stakeholders to engage more effectively and efficiently in the planning, design, and execution of projects. This cutting-edge technology also allows for improved remote monitoring and maintenance, reducing the need for on-site visits and increasing the speed at which issues can be identified and resolved.

Digital Twin vs Industrial Metaverse

The concept of the industrial metaverse isn't entirely new, as it shares similarities with the digital twin initiative, which has been around for years. Digital twins are Digital representations of physical assets, systems, or processes, allowing companies to monitor, analyze, and optimize their operations through simulation and data analysis. The digital twin concept has been applied in various industries, such as manufacturing, energy, and transportation, to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enable innovation.

The industrial metaverse takes the digital twin concept a step further by integrating virtual and augmented reality technologies, AI, and advanced networking capabilities to create immersive, real-time, and interconnected digital environments. These environments can facilitate collaboration, design, training, and communication among different stakeholders, such as engineers, technicians, and managers.

The industrial metaverse builds on the foundations laid by digital twins, expanding their scope and functionality. While digital twins primarily focus on mirroring and optimizing individual assets or processes, the industrial metaverse aims to create a broader, interconnected virtual space where multiple digital twins can interact and be accessed by various stakeholders. This can lead to new levels of collaboration, innovation, and efficiency in various industrial sectors.

Both technologies share the same implementation challenges: Infrastructure, security, adoption, Interoperability, data accuracy, Network latency and cultural change.

Uniting Industry Leaders in the Emergence of the Industrial Metaverse

Numerous stakeholders and investors are actively participating in the development of the industrial metaverse, encompassing technology providers, engineering firms, and digital twin technology specialists. Leading technology providers, such as Microsoft , Siemens , PTC , Unity , Unreal Engine , and Bosch , are at the forefront of innovation, offering various solutions and platforms to create, manage, and deploy industrial metaverse applications.

In addition to these technology giants, engineering and digital twin technology providers, including AVEVA , Hexagon Asset Lifecycle Intelligence , Bentley Structural Analysis , and Dassault Systèmes Systems, are also making significant strides in this space. They are contributing their expertise in engineering, design, and simulation to enhance the capabilities of the industrial metaverse and provide a seamless integration with existing systems.

In the energy industry, owners and operators have begun implementing a "twin of twins" approach at the corporate level for their projects and assets (Aramco, Shell…). This essentially creates a private version of the industrial metaverse, akin to a private cloud. The widespread adoption of this concept is anticipated, eventually leading to seamless integration among its various components.

Furthermore, engineering companies have begun to recognize the potential of the industrial metaverse and are taking the initiative to develop their own proprietary solutions. For instance, at Kent, we are actively working on the creation of our industrial metaverse platform that aims to revolutionize the way we approach design, operations, collaboration, and decision-making in the entire assets lifecycle.

This collaborative effort from various industry players signifies a growing interest and investment in the industrial metaverse, indicating its potential to transform the landscape of industrial operations and unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and sustainability.

#industrialmetaverse #DigitatTwin #generativeai #Energy #digitalengineering #digitalengineering #innovation

Wassim Ghadban