Digital and physical world without borders: spatial computing and industrial metaverse

Read the new chapter of the Tech Trends report from Deloitte translated by the tekkix editorial team of KROK under the cut!

Quite often, innovations cause a strong reaction among fans and early adopters. Then public interest gradually wanes, and after months or years, these technologies return as working tools for business. Some explain this course of events through the technology maturity curve built by Gartner. Others believe that innovation goes through a natural development path from hype to a working tool. In the "Tech Trends 2023" report, describing last year's trend in the article "Through the Glass: Immersive Internet for Enterprises," Deloitte analysts predicted that the metaverse or immersive internet would transform into a full-fledged corporate tool as companies discover and build new ways of interaction, such as through modeling in augmented and virtual reality.

This year, some of these metaverse capabilities have started to develop in new directions, towards a broader field of spatial computing. Spatial technologies have passed the stage of consumer hype and are now being actively used as corporate tools in industry, where factories and commercial companies create digital twins, spatial models, augmented reality work instructions, as well as digital space for productive and safe collaboration. The prospects are promising: by 2030, revenue from the industrial metaverse could reach nearly $100 billion, far surpassing the consumer ($50 billion) and corporate ($30 billion) segments.

To work with immersive 3D models, workers, designers, and engineers actively use familiar devices such as tablets, as well as experimental technologies like smart glasses. This approach is radically different from what was before. The industrial metaverse obeys the laws of physics of the real world and allows for the most accurate visualization of physical processes with a presence effect using spatial data and artificial intelligence. For example, production workers can use smart glasses to connect with an expert at any factory in the country, and engineers can work on a prototype of new equipment in photorealistic digital twins, where all the laws of physics apply. Before starting construction, many companies try to first model future objects.

High-precision 3D technologies and hardware for extended reality (a collective term that includes immersive technologies such as augmented, virtual, and mixed reality) have been refined, become more accessible, and can form the basis of a functional spatial network in which the digital layer is superimposed on the physical and accelerates work in various industries. Sooner or later, as progress in this area continues, an era of simplified operations will come. And then autonomous systems, real-time 3D models, and quantum computing with direct but necessary human involvement will be sufficient for remote surgery. Just imagine that with good communication, one employee will be able to manage an entire production workshop.

Yesterday: enterprise modeling

Technological advances in recent years have laid the foundation for the creation of an industrial metaverse. Investments in digital twins, 5G networks, cloud technologies, edge computing, and artificial intelligence have not only brought tangible benefits but also solved long-standing problems. That is why 92% of manufacturing executives surveyed in a recent Deloitte study said they have at least one scenario related to the metaverse in operation or already in implementation, with an average of more than six such scenarios. Surveyed executives expect that in the coming years, sales efficiency, throughput, and quality indicators will increase by 12%–14% due to investments in the industrial metaverse.

The most popular tools, according to the survey, are process modeling and digital twins. In industry, with its complex, expensive, and high-precision operations, it is already impossible to do without full-fledged modeling. If data and models are available in real-time through the Internet of Things and an extended network environment, modeling increases the likelihood of successfully building a new or optimizing an existing production process. Hence, some analysts' conviction that the global digital twin market could grow from $6.5 billion in 2021 to $125.7 billion in 2030.

There is no better way to interact with full-scale digital twins than augmented reality, as such an environment allows you to overlay a digital layer on top of the physical and create a three-dimensional immersive internet for joint use. The global augmented reality device market was valued at $38.6 billion as of 2022, with a projected annual growth rate of 36% until 2030, considering the relevant software and hardware. While industry and manufacturing currently account for the largest share of the augmented reality market, the healthcare share (e.g., training, surgical operation modeling, and vein visualization) is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 44% until 2030. These technologies have also found wide application in the consumer sector, which has grown significantly due to the e-commerce boom during the pandemic, meaning digital twins will be used far beyond the corporate segment.

Spatial computing is still in its early stages of development, and auxiliary technologies are not standing still either. Imagine how, through powerful satellite networks and the Internet of Things, it will be possible to connect to sensors at a remote factory to process data on productivity and production volumes in real-time. Technologies are evolving, bringing closer a new era of digital twins: photorealistic models built according to the laws of physics, enhanced by artificial intelligence, and connected to company ecosystems, such as the Omniverse platform at BMW. Scientific and technological progress will affect various aspects of the company's life: from space planning to design and even operation.

Today: Awaiting the Spatial Network

The spatial network (also known as the Web 3.0 concept) is slowly but surely developing, potentially capable of erasing the boundary between digital and physical objects, seamlessly connecting them into a whole. Thanks to next-generation interfaces, such as smart glasses, the spatial network allows people to interact with information in real-time. Data comes from the physical environment as a result of location determination or computer vision work, and voice and gesture control ensures interactivity. With such a set of capabilities, the spatial computing market may surpass the metaverse market, and, according to some forecasts, it will grow to $600 billion by 2032.

Of course, it will take years for the spatial network to fully manifest itself, but innovative companies are already laying its infrastructure now. In the next one and a half to two years, companies should pay attention to the implementation of spatial computing and technologies that will increase employee efficiency.

$600 billion by 2032

With this set of capabilities, the spatial computing market could surpass the metaverse market, and, according to some forecasts, it will grow to $600 billion by 2032.

Personnel and Augmented Reality

As augmented and virtual reality tools become commonplace for industrial workers, companies are seeing increased efficiency and improved results in several key areas:

• Effective monitoring. Augmented reality devices with spatial immersion effects allow employees to be in multiple places at once, so fewer specialists can be involved while monitoring more objects. For example, Nokia's eXtended Reality Multimedia solution provides 360-degree real-time display, as well as surround sound and streaming. As a result, users can be transported to a physical space that is many kilometers away from them. This can improve the level of proactive maintenance, safety, and quality control.

• Accelerated adaptation of new employees. New employees can perform standard work procedures on simulators, relying on visual cues, which means they will learn in the process of work, without interrupting production. For example, new employees at the factories of a global car manufacturer use augmented reality devices to work in real-time with experts from different parts of the USA. When everyone sees and hears the same thing at the same time, experienced workers can accurately show where and how to hit the door with a hammer.

• Increased safety. As noted in last year's report, management can equip workers with augmented and virtual reality tools to better prepare them for working in hazardous conditions. Stanford University School of Medicine has launched a virtual reality system in a test mode that combines images obtained using MRI and CT to create, among other things, a 3D model of the patient's body before surgery. Surgeons see not just a flat picture, but can work with a more anatomically detailed digital twin of the body, and they can do this both in the classroom and in the operating room. As a result, doctors have already noted higher accuracy and safety when performing some of the most complex medical procedures, such as brain surgery.

Design, development, and product sales

Spatial computing not only increases net profit; augmented reality technologies help to increase overall sales volume. For example, clothing retailers integrate advanced augmented reality technologies into their apps, websites, and stores, thereby standing out among competitors. Thanks to generative AI, they will soon be able to transform flat images into 3D models through augmented reality, making digital tools more accessible and attracting more customers to the spatial web.

With such augmented reality technology, you can not only try on an image of clothing on a customer but also model how the fabric will outline the silhouette or how the light and shadow will play with different seam lines. The results speak for themselves: after the introduction of augmented reality technology in some stores, the average check increased by more than one and a half times. Since brands have shown interest in the latest developments in spatial computing, augmented reality technology vendors expect similar demand in other areas such as education, entertainment, and travel.

Another area of application for spatial computing is modeling conditions for product development and testing. This can significantly increase business flexibility, reduce time to market, and even achieve more sustainable development. Automakers, for example, can avoid crashing hundreds of cars in crash tests and instead use an initial data set to model thousands of such tests, taking into account even natural disasters that are not easy to reproduce in the real world. One of the largest pharmaceutical companies, GSK, applied these principles to model vaccine production, and as a result, the experimental stage takes not three weeks, as before, but only a few minutes. And in heavy industry, such as mining enterprises, modeling can be used to fine-tune the trajectories of machine movements, thereby not only increasing work efficiency but also reducing harmful emissions while the process of transitioning to renewable energy sources is underway.

Space Planning and Modeling

Wisdom says: "measure seven times, cut once," but in the context of spatial computing, it takes on a new meaning. Thanks to spatial computing, companies can visualize, model, and test building layouts before investing serious money in construction. In other words, "measure 3,000 times, cut once." Architects can design an exact copy of a factory or hospital, taking into account all the nuances: the number of people and machines on the premises, their interactions, and movements. For example, hospital management may decide to expand the emergency department if they model a situation with the standard number of incoming patients and realize that there is not enough space. In turn, an automaker may need a forecast of how the designed factory will handle a sharp increase in demand for electric vehicles in the coming years.

This is the kind of system Hyundai Motor envisioned when it partnered with Unity to create the first full-scale factory model of its kind. The automaker plans to test the factory in a virtual environment to calculate the optimal method of operation and line placement so that in the future, factory managers can assess emerging problems remotely. Siemens has also become one of the pioneers of the industrial metaverse, announcing the construction of a new factory in Germany, which will first be fully planned and modeled in a digital environment. Only when all the drawings have been adjusted based on digital data does the company plan to build a real production and administrative complex.

With the help of spatial computing, it is possible not only to design new spaces but also to optimize the use of existing physical objects. For example, retail planners at GUESS first designed and tested store updates in digital format and only then began to implement them. As a result, the team managed to reduce costs by 30% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by reducing the number of necessary business trips.

Tomorrow: Digital World

In connection with the upcoming release of Apple Vision Pro, the term "spatial computing" has gone mainstream. While some may wonder how long this trend will last, Deloitte analysts are not ready to bet against technologies that simplify our lives. The history of technology development has proven that simplifying interaction methods always leads to large-scale changes: technologies become more accessible and easier to use. Spatial computing could be another such leap in technology development, where natural gestures and other ways of interacting with the physical world can be transferred to the digital world, creating a perfect match between the organic and technological worlds.

Interaction technologies continue to go beyond computer science and penetrate the field of natural sciences (see the article "xTech Measurements"), which has led to the creation of neurocomputer interfaces (brain-computer), whose simplicity makes them in some sense the pinnacle of evolution. Although today neurocomputer interfaces are mainly used to restore human abilities (for example, the ability to walk), in the future they can improve such abilities, allowing us to perform digital and physical tasks at previously unthinkable speeds and on unprecedented scales.

For this, auxiliary technologies will be needed: 6G networks and the Internet of Things. High-speed connection and ubiquitous communication between the machines of the future will allow them to coordinate their actions with each other seamlessly. The World Economic Forum has already predicted that someday IoT sensors will be literally everywhere and will be able to digitize human physical labor, increasing the overall level of automation. Such achievements can significantly simplify our interaction with machines, as they will better inform us about their environment and condition.

Imagine that in the future, with the help of a neurocomputer interface, people will be able to launch, control, and change a chain of machines on an assembly line. Industrial tasks can also be solved remotely, without getting up from the desk. And then language will seem to us something inferior compared to the ability to transmit thoughts directly, without verbalization, because it is much more efficient than first putting them into words.

The opportunities look enticing, but companies are at a crossroads. If they really want to be at the forefront, and not just chase fashion and hype, they need to follow the innovators and catch up. It is necessary not only to hire and train specialists in computer vision, sensor technologies, and spatial mapping algorithms, but also to work out potential risks in advance. Opening the physical world to digital manipulation carries risks related to privacy (as computer vision capabilities develop), cybersecurity (as the physical world becomes vulnerable to hacking), and data protection. Fortunately, the development of digital twins and working with the first 3D models have taught us valuable lessons that can be used in the future.

As soon as spatial operations begin to be used in industry, they will move further into the corporate sector: the natural development of spatial computing is capable of radically changing the types of interactions in both the consumer and corporate segments in the coming years.

Kirill Yakimenko

BIM-expert KROK

“Already today we are creating 3D models of the as-built documentation stage – the most accurate representation of the real object, essentially a digital twin. BIM (Building Information Modeling) is no longer just a design tool; the need for data extraction from the model, monitoring, and management of engineering equipment is increasing.

Augmented reality allows the use of BIM models in completely new scenarios: construction work control, operation, and maintenance. Together with integration into monitoring software, the BIM-AR bundle can become an effective tool in the hands of an engineer, capable of seeing equipment through and receiving visual data in real-time.”