As the metaverse evolves, could workers get lost in the process of implementing advanced simulations, automated operations and increasing connectivity between systems?
Despite the media and many investors being focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI, the industrial metaverse is still advancing and making inroads into companies’ daily operations.
During an event, Industrial metaverse - promises, challenges, and issues, held at this year’s South by Southwest conference, an expert panel composed of Karoliina Salminen, lead for smart manufacturing research and innovation at VTT; Timmy Ghiurau, innovation lead, virtual experiences and XR, at Volvo Cars; and Vesa Koivumaa, head of growth at Wärtsilä Voyage, debated the use of immersive technologies for industrial use cases.
VTT is exploring opportunities that the industrial metaverse will create. The company is particularly interested in investigating what the transformation of industrial work will look like and how it will change people’s tasks and positions. The human perspective is at the centre of VTT’s work on the industrial metaverse, focusing on human-driven industrial metaverse solutions.
Volvo Cars is looking at human-interface issues and what the relationship between humans and technology can be and will become. Ghiurau is investigating human-centric design options and is particularly interested in human interactions within the context of autonomous cars.
AI is an essential part of the metaverse - partly because AI will be necessary to create immersive environments - leading to questions about control of, and responsibility for, virtual worlds
Karoliina Salminen, VTT
Salminen noted that VTT defines the metaverse as an immersive environment that allows communication and interaction between people and technologies. Interaction is an important aspect as well as the blending of the physical and virtual world. To interact with industrial processes, real-time connection between users and systems are crucial.
Looking at the potential, Ghiurau observes corporations have been using virtual reality since the 1980s but now related tools find use beyond R&D and design. New applications can be found in manufacturing, branding, and car configurators, for example. Designers, developers, executives, and city planners have the opportunity to have more meaningful conversations and communicate across industrial and commercial silos.
Koivumaa also sees metaverse-related tools improving constantly. For instance, digital twins of cruise-ship bridges allow crews to experience ship environments before they are built so that future users can provide their input for the final design. Without immersive environments, experiencing different configurations is impossible. But now operators and crews can relate to the designs in visceral ways and identify problem areas intuitively.
Benefits to workers of industrial metaverse
VTT is looking at the metaverse from the human perspective, asking: What will be beneficial from the workers’ point of view? Work assignments in the field, in manufacturing, in construction, and in logistics have remained fairly unchanged over the decades - the effects of the industrial metaverse could be transformational in these jobs.
For instance, many workers could become location independent with the use of virtual environments. As a result, work could become more flexible and perhaps adapt to personal preferences, skills, needs and capabilities instead of forcing workers to adapt to environment and task. The industrial metaverse then would increase operational flexibility and adaptability.
Ageing of talent is a consideration that many industries are facing. The maritime industry also is looking at a grey tsunami, thanks to the ongoing retirement of baby boomers and the associated loss of skills and experience. Creating effective and efficient approaches to training the next generation of talent will become increasingly important. In the past, multimillion-dollar simulation centres were required so that trainees could study operations and processes on a ship's bridge. Such facilities required trainees from around the world to travel to these centres.
With extended reality, corporations can engage people at a young age so they can explore their interest in related job opportunities. Later, operators can use the technology to teach trainees the ropes of navigation and bridge operations in remote settings. The opportunities of the industrial metaverse to engage and train people globally are of substantial value for the industry.
Volvo Cars is working with Varjo, a Finnish provider of mixed- and virtual-reality solutions, to increase productivity. Issues exist, though. If practitioners of XR focus on the efficiency of only one aspect of the operations - rather than the entire system or supply chain - the complete process can become less efficient. For instance, if manufacturing accelerates its operations and becomes increasingly adaptable, only to be hampered by supply-chain logistics that cannot support these improvements.
Control of the generated data
Salminen is concerned about the ethical use of related technologies and particularly the use of the data involved. The industrial metaverse will only become truly effective if the environment can be used to collect and analyse a lot of data to improve processes and operations - for instance, the way workers are going about their jobs, what skill levels they have, what training needs they have. But such data use involves privacy and ethical considerations - who will own what type of data, what data can be captured, and what analytics are permissible? Problematically, if only a handful of companies will come to dominate the metaverse, control of the generated data will reside within a small group of market participants.
Another concern is that one group of society potentially could thrive in this emerging environment, whereas other groups might be left out. The skillset needed to leverage immersive environments could establish a barrier for many workers and employees, who will not get the chance or might find it difficult to adapt to emerging requirements. Over time, the result of such a dynamic would be a polarisation in the employment landscape. On a positive note, the industrial metaverse also could open pathways to support talent with various skill levels.
Koivumaa adds concerns beyond the necessary skillset. The industrial metaverse will require fast connectivity and advanced interface technologies for users. Not all population groups might have access to advanced technologies and infrastructures. The question then is, “Are immersive experiences creating a new digital divide?” In addition, servers, artificial intelligence, and analytics could provide large companies with a competitive advantage that might be difficult to match for startups and smaller players.
Ghiurau points to the difficulties of making sense of all the generated data. It is easy to extract data from virtual environments, but curation and analysis is another issue. Also, communicating resulting insights can be a challenge. Data without storytelling will not benefit many users. The use of the metaverse to find deeper values related to sustainability, circularity, privacy, and safety will be important contributions to emerging immersive environments.
The effect of AI
Salminen wonders about the effects on social aspects of human interactions and commercial operations. The metaverse is available 24/7 and could force many internationally dispersed team members to work at odd times. The environment could also lead to constantly changing team compositions, resulting in the loss of a community of workers. Loneliness is already a concern , but the metaverse could exacerbate the issue.
AI will compound many already problematic considerations. Algorithmic control versus human involvement also will play a major role in the development of the metaverse and related applications. Salminen sees AI as an essential part of the metaverse - partly because AI will be necessary to create immersive environments - leading to questions about control of, and responsibility for, virtual worlds.
Read more about the metaverse
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Enterprise and industrial metaverses exceeding expectations: Across use cases, particularly industrial and enterprise, early metaverse adopters report benefits more often than companies still in the planning phase, with capex reduction and sustainability showing largest difference.
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Ghiurau also assigned a specific role to AI - the need to create representation layers of various types of data. Trust in algorithmic systems and the centre of control will become relevant - how will users know when the system is in control and when the human is in control?
Other aspects of human capabilities are worth noting. Koivumaa highlights unique competencies humans have, with creativity being a crucial one. The creative spark is an important element of creating value. Moreover, creativity can elicit emotions. AI can copy existing art, for instance, but original art is what has an impact on humans.
System-related aspects also deserve attention. Ghiurau stresses advantages that a common language and platform of metaverse applications can offer. For instance, Volvo Cars - in fact, the entire landscape of commercial players - could benefit if everybody connects to a common platform. Partners, users, and consumers could connect seamlessly with applications from every other participant.
Salminen also wonders how much information will become accessible in a visual format and how users and practitioners will communicate such information. Although smart glasses will become increasingly common in industrial settings, adoption and diffusion in the consumer space is still slow. A cultural change might be needed to make such information and communication a reality, like the way the internet has changed how people interact among each other and with institutions. Koivumaa believes the metaverse is reducing barriers.
The industrial metaverse will bring people together from around the world. Gaming and commercial uses will mix - the next generation of the workforce might even expect gaming aspects within work applications. The industrial metaverse will be the next layer of computing and the next level of interactions.
