ZURICH: Siemens has signed a partnership agreement with chip designer Nvidia Corp to create an industrial metaverse, an enhanced virtual reality that allows companies to reduce the costs of running their factories, buildings, and speed up new product design.
The deal is part of the Siemens Xcelerator, a new open digital platform that was launched by the German technology and engineering company on Wednesday.
The cloud-based platform, which will feature hardware, software, and digital services, is part of Siemens' ambition to grow its digital business by 10 per cent per year from the €5.6 billion US $5.89 billion generated in 2021.
Siemens Xcelerator will make it easier for companies to navigate digital transformation faster and at scale, according to Roland Busch, Siemens Chief Executive.
Siemens, which bought Brightly Software for US $1.58 billion on Monday, is moving further into the digital space because it offers faster growth rates and higher margins than its traditional business of trains and industrial drives and automation.
Siemens and Nvidia are two of the companies that are working in the so-called metaverse, which refers to the idea of a shared virtual platform that people can access through different devices and where they can move through digital environments.
Meta Platforms and Microsoft are looking at the possibility of metaverse technology being used in business and leisure.
Siemens's Xcelerator will be the umbrella term for services that will allow customers to visualise their yachts or factories, for example, before construction starts.
Tony Hemmelgarn, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries Software, told reporters that we can essentially replace having to build a thing in the real world first.
He said that the platform would make sure products are going to work well before we commit to building them in the real world when it becomes expensive and hard to change.
As part of the collaboration, Siemens will connect Xcelerator and its own software and digital twin products with Nvidia's Omniverse, a platform for 3D design.