Gaming and social media are most often associated with the term metaverse, but other applications—notably Extended Reality (XR) in the enterprise—have been leading in the XR market. Digital twins, simulation tools, edge and cloud computing, and professional services/platforms lay the groundwork for future metaverse use cases. This blog post will review these technological underpinnings and discuss the key applications already being used today across industries.
Metaverse Technological Underpinnings
While there is no consensus on defining the metaverse, everyone agrees that the technology involves interaction within an immersive virtual world. In the Business-to-Business (B2B) context, the metaverse encompasses four broad categories: digital twins, simulations, edge and cloud computing, and professional services/platforms. The fusion of these four categories facilitates the creation of an immersive Three-Dimensional (3D) ecosystem where consumers can be entertained and organizations can augment operations.
- Digital twins are digital versions of real-world products, systems, processes, facilities, or even humans. They mimic their real-world counterparts so that organizations can accurately monitor, for example, a product’s functionality or machine performance. Real-time data collection via sensorization enables companies to improve predictive maintenance capabilities and extend the object life span. Digital twins are also useful for testing product design or optimizing a facility’s space utilization and energy efficiency.
- Simulations are useful in harnessing skills, testing products, and creating immersive experiences in a safe environment. Simulation tools are highly prevalent in robotics, special effects, film and TV, game development, and other areas.
- Edge and cloud computing are key to overcoming the scaling challenges of the metaverse. Cloud computing reduces device requirements and enhances battery life, while edge computing minimizes latency by processing data closer to the user. Companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Cloudflare offer edge services, while Microsoft Azure, Qualcomm, and Google Cloud provide cloud computing solutions to enhance scalability and accessibility for metaverse applications.
- Professional services and platforms are essential during the transition to the metaverse. Bold technological adoption will require enterprises to reach out to experts who support digitization deployments and devise optimal strategies. Moreover, professional services and platform providers can help manage challenges like data ownership, sustainability, personal safety, and security.
The Opportunities of the Metaverse
Digital twins, professional services, simulations, and edge and cloud computing offer ample opportunities for organizations by enhancing design processes, bolstering safety testing, and improving employee training outcomes. Notable enterprise sectors benefiting from the metaverse include healthcare, industrial, education/training, and automotive. Here are some notable metaverse applications and real-world examples.
Healthcare
Healthcare is a key industry for Virtual Reality (VR), having demonstrated its ability to improve patient outcomes, notably for psychiatric patients and phantom limb pains. VR tools enable healthcare providers to construct a 3D model of a patient’s body to support the planning and training use cases. Remote expertise has been another way the metaverse has been used in the healthcare industry, as the U.K. National Health Care Service (NHS) leveraged during the COVID-19 pandemic. XR technologies have also been used in surgery operations, with the Mayo Clinic deploying Augmented Reality (AR) tools offered by MediView for precise 3D visualization of patient anatomies and real-time feedback.
Industrial
The industrial metaverse mimics industrial assets such as machinery, equipment, facilities, etc. AR/VR technologies foster immersive collaboration and operational visibility, and fuel digital twin/simulation use cases. These data-centric applications result in benefits such as predicting future trends and equipment maintenance, analyzing the past, and removing geographical barriers.
Norwegian clean battery producer FREYR is a notable example of using the industrial metaverse to augment operations. The company partnered with Siemens, AWS, and NVIDIA to bridge the physical and digital worlds at its gigafactories in Norway and the United States. The metaverse solution accounts for use cases like virtual showrooming, machine performance analytics, quality prediction, and manufacturing/assembly planning. The digital twin sources operational data from:
- The factory floor
- 3D definitions of the building
- Machinery/equipment
- Human ergonomics and safety information
- Production process details
- Robotics and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
- Simulations
Education
Digital avatars can significantly enhance communication platforms by providing enhanced emotional connection and immersion. 3D learning tools afforded by the metaverse solve historical challenges of eLearning, with case studies demonstrating improved learning outcomes. For example, HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality (MR) was a core aspect of Northeastern University’s pandemic response. One lab class reduced the time it took to learn a new technique from 3 hours to less than 30 minutes.
The University of Miami has been another adopter of the metaverse in the education sector. Students leverage VR to do anything from virtually visiting a Syrian refugee camp to digitally connecting with other architecture students in India. The University of Miami also uses AR for real-time language translation, improving collaboration among students and faculty.
Automotive
Automakers are set up to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the metaverse. Immersive AR/VR tools are used to construct 3D designs and digital twins of vehicle models. This allows car brands to optimize car designs in an interactive and data-driven manner. Moreover, the metaverse will increasingly be used to connect remote experts with frontline workers who need to troubleshoot technical issues—a key component of streamlined after-sales services in manufacturing. Not only does remote assistance accelerate the time to remedy production issues, but it also reduces travel costs for automakers.
As previously covered by ABI Research, AR provides hands-free instructions for frontline workers at automotive factories. These metaverse-enabled workflows ensure employee safety and improve content recall from learning resources due to the immersive nature of AR applications. These metaverse use cases have also been shown to reduce employee error rates via precise visual guidance.
Powered by NVIDIA Omniverse™, BMW is one of the first automakers to leverage the metaverse for its vehicle production plants. Constructing a virtual replica of its facilities in the metaverse enables BMW to optimize strategic plans and processes before fully implementing them. Real-time data feeds, enhanced collaboration, and joint simulations enable the company to minimize downtime and reduce operational costs. The industrial metaverse also empowers BMW to tweak facility layouts, robotics, and logistics systems for optimal manufacturing results.
Challenges Stalling Metaverse Development
As the physical and digital worlds continue to converge, new technical trends will emerge and affect the trajectory of the metaverse. For example, ABI Research posits that the metaverse market will be defined by seamlessness, interoperability, concurrence, presence, and a creator economy. At the same time, platform providers often lack these attributes, which hinders the development of innovative applications.
My team and I have also identified several key challenges regarding developing a full-blown metaverse. Security comes to mind first, with many questions surrounding user safety and data protection. Other challenges include the need for standardization, lack of harmonization of enabling technologies (edge computing, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI), AR, VR, etc.), and scalability. Nevertheless, these barriers can be removed through carefully calculated steps. Once these challenges are overcome, the opportunities of the metaverse are wide-ranging, offering something for every enterprise and consumer.
Learn more about these possibilities and our analyst recommendations by downloading ABI Research’s Metaverse: State of the Market presentation.
