The Industrial Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, transportation, and utilities by making them smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. According to estimates, the market for industrial metaverse applications could grow to $100 billion by 2030. Leading industries are already making investments in this technology to enhance productivity, accelerate green transitions through VR/AR/MR and 5G technologies supported by AI/ML capabilities, and create additional value for their customers.

Enhancing productivity and safety

The Industrial Metaverse holds immense potential to improve planning, testing, and operations, leading to better decision-making and improved worker safety. By integrating real-time interaction, high data throughput, low latency, and seamless connectivity, the metaverse offers significant advantages for industries. Advanced 5G, and eventually 6G, networks will be crucial to supporting the high demands of the Industrial Metaverse. Critical necessities, such as energy efficiency and secure data communication, will shape how industries operate in this new environment.

Extended Reality (XR) technologies are also central to the Industrial Metaverse, creating immersive, interactive experiences that enhance industrial processes. For example, digital twins enable manufacturers to identify and address issues during product design, testing, and process optimization before committing significant resources. This proactive approach helps avoid costly overruns, project failures, and even reduces work-related risks.

The role of 5G networks in enabling the Industrial Metaverse

While the foundational technologies for the metaverse aren't entirely new, they place increased demands on advanced 5G networks. Without radically renewed networks, platforms, and applications, the Industrial Metaverse will not reach its full potential. It's clear that a new type of ecosystem collaboration is required for this transformation to succeed.

Power of ecosystem collaboration in driving industrial transformation

To address these global challenges, Nokia was selected as a winner of Business Finland’s ‘Veturi’ challenge competition. Nokia’s Veturi program is focused on three key pillars, which together drive the development of unique capabilities for the Industrial Metaverse:

Security and sustainability
Cybersecurity is a cornerstone of the Industrial Metaverse, ensuring transparent and trusted data collection and usage in an energy-efficient way. Security and sustainability must be designed into the core architecture of the digital-physical world across all industries.

Interoperability and domain-specific capabilities
The Industrial Metaverse is a complex ecosystem connecting diverse systems, devices, platforms, and data sources. Seamless interoperability is crucial. Networks must be radically transformed to provide the domain-specific capabilities needed for industrial use cases. This transformation will enable dynamic and automatic adaptation to meet the specialized requirements of various industrial sectors.

Standardization and commercialization
The success of the Industrial Metaverse will depend on standardized, interoperable technologies that appeal to a broad market. A standardized approach encourages widespread adoption and accelerates commercialization, benefiting industries globally. The expertise of ecosystem partners in areas such as networks, microelectronics, XR technologies, and industrial applications will ensure that the Industrial Metaverse operates efficiently and at scale.

Building the future together

Together with over 100 ecosystem partners, particularly in Finland, Nokia is working to build the key enablers of the Industrial Metaverse across multiple industries. By combining the core competencies of its partners, Nokia aims to turn the vision of the Industrial Metaverse into reality over the coming years, driving innovation and transformation across the industrial landscape.