ARTICLE: Is there anything noteworthy about the business metaverse?

Siemens invested €500 million in a new technology campus in Erlangen, Germany, in July 2023 to develop its vision of the industrial metaverse. The company aims to create a real-time, photorealistic virtual representation of the world, where AI helps create the next generation of high-tech, flexible, and sustainable manufacturing technologies. The metaverse concept has been used primarily to describe the development of a 3D internet, but now it aims to create precise simulations of industrial equipment, allowing manufacturing and other industrial firms to optimize operations without disruption and improve collaboration among workers and frontline employee training.

Interoperability is crucial for the metaverse to become the next iteration of the internet, as it requires widespread agreement on standards. The rapidly evolving metaverse space requires regulatory standards to ensure safety, fairness, and interoperability. In Europe, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) have recently been implemented to promote fair competition and prevent anti-competitive practices among digital platforms. This can indirectly benefit the industrial metaverse by encouraging interoperability and data sharing between different platforms and services.

Open source software models, like the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), let businesses help make interoperable options. This makes sure that the infrastructure of the metaverse is accessible and flexible. Developers could build upon existing functionality, introduce new features, and integrate emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and spatial computing.

The possibilities for the metaverse are endless, but manufacturers must prioritize upgrading their current processes and establishing a trusted industrial equipment supplier. Receiving parts like Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) can help manufacturers save on costs, increase efficiency, and reduce downtime. By sourcing parts like Foxmere’s PLCs, manufacturers can lay the foundations for the metaverse future and initiate the process of gathering and effectively managing data from their equipment, serving as a means to bridge the physical and digital realms of the industrial landscape.