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Digital Manufacturing and Industrial Metaverse: Current Status, Applications and Future Trends

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Industrial Technologies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2025) | Viewed by 3685

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: robotic systems; automation; augmented, mixed, and virtual reality in manufacturing; manufacturing process modeling; cloud technologies; Internet of Things (IoT); digital twin; 5G; artificial intelligence; product–service systems (PSS); Industry 4.0; Industry 5.0
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department for Mechanical Aeronautics and Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: Industry 4.0 technologies; simulation of manufacturing systems; cloud manufacturing; augmented, mixed and virtual reality in manufacturing; fluid dynamics; multiphase flows and computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The industrial metaverse is a comprehensive field that incorporates a plethora of hardware components (e.g., sensors and VR headsets) and software components for data analyses through machine learning, human–machine interfaces for cognition, and configuration. The key contribution of the industrial metaverse is the ability to engage in real-time multidisciplinary sessions, irrespective of geographical barriers, by navigating a 3D virtual environment. The integration of the industrial metaverse into current manufacturing systems holds several benefits, such as reducing scrap and faulty parts, decreasing unscheduled downtime, decreasing operating costs, increasing throughput, and improving training capabilities, among others. Furthermore, communication barriers related to different languages can be eliminated, additional functionalities enabling the development of spatial presence are provided, and usability is improved; however, following recent developments, four main challenge areas can be identified, these being i) cyber security, ii) implementation and operation costs, iii) compatibility as well as interoperability, and iv) computational performance. Therefore, this Special Issue is dedicated to the investigation of the current status of the industrial metaverse and corresponding technologies, as well as to highlighting the ongoing challenges. Consequently, two types of contributions are welcome: i) research manuscripts and ii) critical literature reviews.

Prof. Dr. Dimitris Mourtzis
Dr. Nikos Panopoulos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • metaverse

  • Society 5.0
  • human cyber-physical systems
  • resilience
  • sustainability
  • artificial intelligence
  • digital manufacturing
  • extended reality
  • blockchain
  • digital twin

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

30 pages, 3089 KiB  
Review
Industrial Metaverse: A Comprehensive Review, Environmental Impact, and Challenges
by Sindiso Mpenyu Nleya and Mthulisi Velempini
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5736; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135736 - 1 Jul 2024
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2898
Abstract
The Industrial Metaverse paradigm can be broadly described as a virtual environment that integrates various technologies such as augmented reality and mixed reality to enhance business operations and processes. It aims to streamline workflows, reduce error rates, improve efficiency, and provide a more [...] Read more.
The Industrial Metaverse paradigm can be broadly described as a virtual environment that integrates various technologies such as augmented reality and mixed reality to enhance business operations and processes. It aims to streamline workflows, reduce error rates, improve efficiency, and provide a more engaging experience for employees. The promise of the Industrial Metaverse to drive sustainability and resource efficiency is compelling. Using advanced technologies such as the Industrial Metaverse is vital in an endeavor to have a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving business environment. However, the environmental impact of the technologies underpinning the Industrial Metaverse, like data centers and network infrastructure, should not be overlooked. The ecological footprint of these technologies must be considered in the sustainability equation. Researchers have warned that, by 2025, without sustainable artificial intelligence (AI) practices, AI will consume more energy than the human workforce, significantly offsetting zero carbon gains. As the Metaverse persists in evolving and gaining momentum, it will be necessary for companies to prioritize sustainability and explore new ways to balance technological advancements with environmental stewardship. However, recent studies have conjectured that the Metaverse holds the potential to reduce carbon emissions, as digital replacements for physical goods become more prevalent and physical activities like mobility and construction are reduced. Moreover, the specific extent to which this substitution can alleviate environmental concerns remains an open issue, presenting a knowledge gap in understanding the real-world impact of digital replacements. Thus, the objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the Industrial Metaverse, as well as explore the environmental impact of the Industrial Metaverse. The integrative literature review design and methodological approach involved multiple sources from the Web of Science and databases such as the ACM library, IEEE Library, and Google Scholar, which were analyzed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the developments in the Industrial Metaverse. Firstly, by considering the Industrial Metaverse’s architecture, we elucidate the Industrial Metaverse concept and the associated enabling technologies. Secondly, we performed an exploration through a discussion of the prevalent use cases and the deployment of the emerging Industrial Metaverse. Thirdly, we explored the impact of the Industrial Metaverse on the environment. Lastly, we address novel security and privacy risks, as well as upcoming research challenges, keeping in mind that the Industrial Metaverse is based on a strong data fabric. The results point to the Industrial Metaverse as having both positive and negative environmental effects in terms of energy consumption, e-waste, and pollution. Research, however, indicates that most Industrial Metaverse applications have a positive environmental impact and subsequently trend toward sustainability. Finally, for sustainability in the Industrial Metaverse, enterprises may consider utilizing renewable energy sources and cloud services. Furthermore, we examined the effects of products on the environment, as well as in the creation of a circular economy. Full article
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