Industrial Metaverse Conference: The future of production

The Industrial Metaverse Conference 2025 by "Produktion" and Ultima Media Germany brought the community together in Munich. The forum, which gathered experts from industry, research, and IT, was a real milestone for the sector. Here, the current developments and forward-looking potentials of the industrial metaverse were discussed. At the center of the event were exciting analyses of the core technologies driving change in industrial production. Strategic considerations on how companies can successfully enter this digital future were also presented.

At the beginning of the event, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bauernhansl from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) spoke about the potential of modern approaches in production and automation for a revolution in industrial manufacturing. The scientific background for the subsequent discussions was created by Prof. Bauernhansl's lecture, in which he highlighted the possibilities of new technologies such as physics-based digital twins and the use of artificial intelligence for production planning.

Dr. Timo Kistner from NVIDIA complemented these perspectives by presenting innovative approaches to implementing digital twins and physical AI, providing participants with valuable insights into practical technologies. Furthermore, the significance of generative AI in the context of the industrial metaverse was thoroughly examined. Dr. Inga von Bibra from Microsoft Germany not only highlighted the technical prerequisites but also concrete use cases and trends that pave the way for future industrial applications. The role of Germany as a location was also discussed. Robert Vasenda from MaibornWolff discussed the strategic advantages companies can gain by sensibly entering the industrial metaverse and the role technological innovations play as part of corporate strategy.

Another highlight was the presentation of practical best-practice examples. Experts like Mathias Stach from DREES & SOMMER and Oliver Geißel from Mercedes-Benz AG reported that the industrial metaverse is already revolutionizing production planning and unlocking new value potentials. The application of digital twin technology, which sets new standards in the automotive sector, was illustrated with examples from Mercedes and other industrial companies. In equally convincing ways, further presentations showcased the versatile applications of extended reality, with practical relevance and immediate benefits for operational processes taking center stage.

The discussions went beyond technological aspects and also focused on the integration of metaverse solutions into existing corporate structures. Dr. Steven Vettermann from Ascon Systems explained, using BMW as an example, how the seamless connection of OT and IT, supported by digital twins, makes a decisive contribution to creating a future-proof production environment. Additionally, the development and application of immersive technologies at Deutsche Bahn were highlighted. The practice-oriented experiences of Julia Lotzow and Ronja Marschall were presented, demonstrating the immediate added value for employee qualification and operational efficiency.

Dr. Bahram Torabi from SICK AG spoke about the development of the industrial metaverse within the industrial value chain and demonstrated the optimization potential of production and logistics planning processes through the use of innovative metaverse technologies. His contribution illustrated the ongoing merging of physical and digital worlds and highlighted the concrete added values in Industry 4.0. Christian Hergt from Bosch Digital spoke about the current developments and perspectives of the industrial metaverse and its integration into corporate strategy, explaining how Bosch's digital innovations use the metaverse as an integral part of future production processes and process efficiency.

Insights into the use of digital twin technologies at Mercedes were provided by Julian Gebhard and Judith Brenner together with Yübo Wang. They illustrated with practical examples how virtual twin models can revolutionize automobile production by enabling more precise planning and monitoring in all phases of the manufacturing process.

In his presentation "Manufacturing-X - An open data ecosystem for the industrial metaverse," Fabian Hammel from the VDI Technology Center presented significant perspectives regarding funding programs and innovative project landscapes that promote the expansion of digital factory solutions. Dr. Quirin Görz, CEO of KUKA Digital, questioned existing paradigms in his provocative lecture "The industrial metaverse doesn't matter" and encouraged critical examination of previous approaches, while Timo Gessmann, CTO at Schunk, in an intensive dialogue session, explained how metaverse technologies can be specifically used in mechanical engineering to optimize processes and drive innovation.

Prof. Dr. Bernd Lüdemann-Ravit from the University of Kempten set impulses for collaboration with the question "Alone or in partnership?" Benjamin Huber and Michael Fichtner from Continental illustrated with practical examples the interaction between digital factory planning and modern production concepts to make operational processes future-proof.

The digital transformation in manufacturing was also examined in detail using a practical example by Dr. Bernd Brinkmeier and Velia Janetzky from Siemens. They demonstrated how companies can concretely realize the benefits of digital integration. Tobias Ott from the ZF Group rounded off the program with a contribution in which they highlighted the potentials of simulations and synthetic data in industrial manufacturing. Following this, a special panel with Alexandra Merkel (CTO Innomatik AG), Dr. Christian Scheifele (Managing Partner ISG GmbH), and Michael Wagner (CEO, SyncTwin) discussed what measures service providers can take to sustainably support logistics and production in the context of the industrial metaverse.

The specialist event was characterized not only by the high quality of the presentations and discussions but also by an intense interdisciplinary exchange that could lay the foundation for the emergence of a new, dynamic metaverse community. The positive response from participants reflected the high relevance of the conveyed content. The event was described by many professional visitors as a significant impetus for future collaborations. Additionally, it served as a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas and practical solutions in a complex subject area.

The Industrial Metaverse Conference 2025 highlighted the diversity and future orientation of approaches to integrating metaverse technologies in industrial manufacturing. The range of contributions, which included both fundamental research and practical application examples, significantly contributed to the gain in knowledge. It also became clear that the conference can provide an important impetus for the emergence of a new metaverse community. The open and constructive discussion among the experts illustrates that the path to the digital future is already being paved today with many innovative ideas and concrete concepts.