From Virtual Worlds to Real-World Impact: An Industrial Metaverse Survey

Metaverse for industrial applications has enormous potential for accelerating digital transformation. More than ever, digital transformation, especially in manufacturing and energy industries, is needed to become more sustainable and resilient. While the consumer-oriented Metaverse revolves around interoperable virtual worlds, the Industrial Metaverse focuses on Digital Twins that mirror operational technologies and complex autonomous systems, creating decentralized ecosystems for solving problems. Applying Metaverse thinking to industrial processes, we gain vast possibilities for innovation, collaboration, and more accessible systems, resulting in more efficient systems. In this paper, we discuss the aspects of decentralized Metaverse applications in an industrial context and distinguish them from similar concepts like cyber-physical systems and Industry 4.0. We examine social Metaverse concepts that can be adapted to industrial systems, facilitating virtual spaces for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a decentralized creator economy. We present a comprehensive reference architecture that outlines the fundamental building blocks of the Industrial Metaverse. This architecture leverages the unique amalgamation of technologies, including interoperable Digital Twins, in the context of immersion, interaction, and collaboration for secure, autonomous-governed decentralized industrial applications. Following, we discuss the research status, requirements, and challenges of core technologies and the unique ecosystem characteristics that drive us toward a future in the Industrial Metaverse.