In 2021, Roblox, known as the “first stock of the Metaverse”, was successfully listed and Facebook changed its name to Meta, which made the “Metaverse” really lively. In addition to the exploration of the underlying technical architecture of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality such as AR, VR, MR, and XR, the rapid development of technologies such as cloud computing, 5G, artificial intelligence, NFT, and Web3.0 has also changed the realization of the Metaverse. more clearly.
What changes will the metaverse bring to the world?
Speaking of the original form of the Metaverse now, it is natural to think of a phenomenal mobile game, “Pokemon GO” developed by Niantic and released in 2016.The streets are full of people catching Pok¨¦mon with their mobile phones, and people are immersed in the interactive space. This is an AR experience based on the mobile phone. When it is replaced with a lighter device such as glasses, many scenarios and applications will be subverted. Maybe it will be more ambitious and interesting, so a group of AR smart glasses manufacturers quickly staking the field, hoping to seize the opportunity.
In other respects, digital virtual humans, digital collections, etc. are all in hot development under the attention of capital. Xiang Wenjie, co-founder of Hangzhou Lingban Technology, said: “The core of the development of Metaverse is the change of human interaction concept, just like from the interaction of computer keyboard and mouse to the gesture plane interaction of mobile phone, the interaction method of Metaverse will be space. Interaction, it will be the next generation computing center. Although it is still a niche, but just like adapting to mobile phones, given time, everyone will become more accustomed to doing more things on such a platform.¡±
However, driven by the Industrial Internet, more and more traditional enterprises have also tasted the sweetness brought by new technologies. Therefore, most enterprises are also actively accepting and trying to embrace the industrial metaverse. It has laid a solid foundation for the development of the metaverse from the first application scenario game field to the industrial metaverse. “We used to talk about MR and AR, and most companies were very resistant, but after the concept of the industrial metaverse was proposed, they quickly accepted it because it was easier to understand and adapt.” Xiang Wenjie said.
Without the mobile Internet, it is difficult for everyone to imagine the birth of WeChat. The metaverse and mobile Internet are concepts of the same level, and they are also a key to open the door to the future world. Therefore, when the technical foundation is completed, various applications will be incubated, and the future will be beyond imagination. Looking at the future with the key in hand, there is no doubt that the metaverse will develop faster and faster like a snowball in the future.
The metaverse is rapidly fissioning , from the consumer side to the industrial side
A recent study by Gartner Research predicts that by 2026, nearly a quarter of internet users will spend at least an hour a day working, shopping, learning, socializing and entertaining in digital virtual worlds. Liu Xiheng, vice president of Huawei’s optical product line, said, “The initiation of the Metaverse is an application for the future personal, family, entertainment, and gaming fields. In future industrial scenarios, perhaps the digital twin of the To B scenario may be more demanding for the Metaverse. Faster. In the To B field, the metaverse may enter the commercial scene sooner.¡±?Just as the Internet has moved from the consumer Internet in the first half to the industrial Internet in the second half, the slight difference is that the industrial Internet is based on the further fermentation of technology after the consumer Internet market is relatively mature, and the perspective turns to traditional enterprises and the real economy.
The giants occupy the land, and the industrial metaverse has passed the conceptual stage?
At present, the battlefield of the Metaverse is full of gunpowder. Although people live, play and work in the virtual world sounds like a beautiful blueprint, in reality, the eyes of global giants such as Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Meta are not the same. It is not limited to the needs of ordinary consumers, which is one of the reasons why the commercial application of the industrial metaverse develops faster.In addition to the exploration of the Metaverse collaborative office scene, the Metaverse has already entered the factory and has made great breakthroughs at the application level. According to Jessica Hawk, Microsoft’s vice president of mixed reality, the industrial metaverse is the foundation upon which the immersive industry of the future will be built. Microsoft has announced that Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries will be a new customer for their Industrial Metaverse, where workers on the factory floor will wear AR equipment to help produce robots. Microsoft’s rival Nvidia has also made achievements in the industrial metaverse, such as building a virtual factory with the BMW Group using the Omniverse platform.
The main players in the global industrial metaverse are China and the United States. Although the United States is at the forefront of technology, China’s speed cannot be underestimated, and Chinese companies are more willing to make many attempts and innovative breakthroughs. “Rokid is the parent company of Hangzhou Lingban Technology. It focuses on AR products on the consumer side. Currently, it ranks first in the world with sales of 30,000 units. In fact, on the industrial side, we are more vertical and in-depth. At present, we are independently researching and developing The nationally produced AR hardware equipment Rokid X-Craft is paired with a remote collaboration platform and an intelligent point inspection platform, perfectly adapting to dozens of sub-industry scenarios such as oil and gas, manufacturing, automobile, chemical industry, etc., and is compatible with PetroChina, State Grid, Midea Group, Audi and other enterprises have carried out in-depth cooperation, and have been put into use in more than 70 countries and regions around the world.” Xiang Wenjie introduced.
Automation, informatization, and intelligence, industrial development has gone through three stages, but different companies have different levels of development, and these three stages have not been completely completed. And the industrial metaverse is still in its infancy. According to the forecast of TrendForce, by 2025, the industrial metaverse will drive the global smart manufacturing market to exceed US$540 billion, with a compound growth rate of 15.35% from 2021 to 2025.Arm the frontline workers when the age of the industrial metaverse arrives. A lot of heavy and repetitive work, AR smart devices will help workers to solve, and do not need to go through long-term training. When the industrial metaverse era arrives, it will strengthen the individual combat capability of workers, and enhance the sense of accomplishment while improving efficiency.