At the heart of the industrial metaverse will be a digital twin – a virtual model that accurately reflects real-world objects. A digital twin combines all the data from a physical object’s entire life cycle. In fact, a digital twin can simulate every aspect of an object with as much precision and detail as a real object.

While the foundations of the industrial metauniverse are still in the process of being established, digital twins are already changing the way we work. For example, Siemens used digital twin technology to plan and simulate the construction of a 73,000 square meter factory in Nanjing, China. By integrating plant, line and performance data, as well as building information, Siemens is able to test and verify the performance and efficiency of the plant prior to actual construction. Digital twins are also being used to optimize factory productivity: new plants are 20 percent more productive, 30 percent more flexible and 40 percent more space-efficient than traditional plants.

NASA’s Perseverance rover is another product of digital twin technology. Before launching a space probe into the Martian atmosphere at more than 12,000 miles per hour, NASA created a digital twin of the probe to detect potential problems in the concept design and predict obstacles that could affect the rover’s safe landing.

Building a digital twin that is fully in sync with the physical object has shown many advantages, but there is still room for innovation. In fact, building digital versions of physical objects is just the beginning. With digital twins, teams can provide richer, more granular insights into more complex business cases by running simulation models in what-if scenarios. Autonomous vehicles can be trained in a realistic simulation environment and improve the initial training model based on real-world data collected during operation.

Another big advance brought about by digital twin technology is the creation of fast, realistic, physics-based digital twins. This will provide participants with a more immersive experience and provide them with real-time feedback in their interactions with digital assets or other participants. When working in a digital world like the real world, participants will gain the confidence necessary to make quick decisions.

Finally, by connecting multiple digital twins in one environment, companies will establish the backbone of an industrial metauniverse. Capgemini calls this next stage of development, featuring human collaboration, digital twins and analog environments, the “twin Internet.” The interconnection of several digital twins will enable companies to simulate complex relationships between different objects, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds and creating an industrial metaverse in the process.

Reinventing experience: The impact and value of the meta-universe

Clearly, the industrial metaverse will reshape the economy. Like the Internet, it will also fundamentally change the daily experience of people around the world. The industrial metaverse will significantly change the way we experience our physical environment, the way we work, and the way we affect the planet.

Experience and improve the human environment

In 2022, Google Maps created a digital twin of the world we live in by integrating billions of Street View and aerial images, and launched an immersive view feature based on this. The feature uses advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence technology to provide users with a multidimensional view and key details of an area such as a city or popular landmark, including the latest weather and traffic conditions, reshaping the user’s experience of the physical world.

Advances in the industrial metaverse will even have an impact on the streets we walk and the public services we rely on. For example, the Siemenstadt Platz development in Berlin will transform a 76-hectare enclosed industrial area into a future-proof, carbon-neutral urban area by 2030. To monitor and optimize progress and operations, the project collects and integrates static and dynamic data on its open Spaces, buildings, infrastructure, energy and transportation through a unique digital twin ecosystem.

Create the workplace of the future

In the future, metaverse applications will likely transform the customer experience. Customers will be able to select and purchase a car in a virtual showroom and complete the purchase, test drive, feature selection and payment procedures without leaving their home.

More than just virtual car buying, the meta-universe will also bring changes to the workplace. The popularity of web conferencing and telecommuting due to the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a dramatic shift in working practices.

In addition, the industrial metauniverse will increase the types of jobs that are not limited by location, further decoupling employment from geography and creating the possibility of “work-from-home” for occupations that currently still require face-to-face interaction or are based on physical infrastructure. At the same time, Industrial Metaverse will change the company’s considerations for the location of new facilities. Safety in the workplace will also change radically: training engineers to maintain dangerous machinery in a safe, immersive digital world, or helping field teams solve potentially life-threatening problems. When you can actually see and experience the environment, you will be able to more intuitively detect potential hazards, such as fire or injury.

The Metacom will also provide a testing ground for experimental projects, a space where multiple users experiment with these use cases and see if they can do their jobs in the digital world.