Microsoft has announced that Kawasaki will be utilizing the company’s industrial metaverse to boost production. Kawasaki employees will wear a Microsoft HoloLens on the factory floor to help with repairs, managing supply chains and manufacturing robotics.
The HoloLens headset is an augmented reality device through which Microsoft aims to create a digital twin of workspaces to speed up production. Via a HoloLens headset, for example, an employee could be walked through the steps of a repair in a factory rather than waiting for a maintenance specialist, with the headset offering visual cues.
Microsoft and the Metaverse
Microsoft is one of the top contenders for the crown of King Metaverse. The company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, spoke about its plans for the metaverse in late 2021, stating, “The metaverse enables us to embed computing into the real world and to embed the real world into computing, bringing real presence to any digital space.”
It’s clear that their lengthy work so far with Hololens is their intended gateway into this new virtual world.
Kawasaki isn’t the first company to partner with Microsoft in this endeavor. Heinz plans to use Microsoft’s Industrial Metaverse in its factories and Boeing has also partnered with Microsoft to do likewise.
Corporate vice president of mixed reality at Microsoft, Jessica Hawk, spoke with CNBC recently about how the industrial metaverse offers innovative, efficient solutions for production.
“These are real-world problems that these companies are dealing with … so having a technology solution that can help unblock the supply chain challenge, for example, is incredibly impactful,” Hawk told CNBC.
Today’s metaverse
While most metaverse pioneers are focusing on the futuristic features of the metaverse, like creating realistic avatars and synthesizing touch Microsoft is showcasing what metaverse technology can accomplish today.
“We really see differentiation in the way that we’re going about our strategy here that recognizes people are going to experience the metaverse across a variety of devices and platforms,” said Hawk.
“We’re just really excited about it’s a moment in time that is unlocking so much innovation,” Hawk added. “Some things we understand today. And we recognize many, many more things that we haven’t fully realized yet. So it’s a very exciting time for us.”
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
