Industrial digitalisation: A smarter, more sustainable future (Part 1)
Author : Dr Timo Kistner, NVIDIA
11 October 2024
The next phase of digital transformation is offering physics-based, full-fidelity, real-time, immersive virtual worlds perfectly synchronised to their physical counterparts.
Whether you call it the industrial metaverse, a digital twin of things, or a digital thread, this 3D convergence of physical and digital realms is transforming how industrial companies operate, enabling them to reduce waste and save costs at a time when this is more pertinent than ever.
It combines standard industrial building blocks such as the internet of things (IoT), digital twins, and extended reality (XR) with the latest technology advancements in generative AI, robotics, and accelerated computing to enable manufacturers to eliminate data silos, combine 3D workflows, and leverage a virtual environment as a training ground for physical AI. Ultimately, this will streamline the development of safe and reliable autonomous machines powered by generative AI, which must be trained and tested in physically-based virtual worlds.
What if?
What if you could break down different data sources along the product lifecycle to help engineers collaborate in real-time, see and act on design changes immediately, and get a precise view on the status of the task at hand? What if you could enhance simulations with a true-to-reality replica of the real-world environment to design, test, and verify experiments that provide physics-based accurate results of actual behaviours? The integration of these technologies allows you to test countless scenarios in a credible virtual environment, closing the sim-to-real gap before making any concrete changes.
Moving away from traditional simulation approaches and physical prototypes towards verisimilar digital twins and physical AI not only saves money and reduces errors but also speeds up product development for faster market entry. True-to-reality digital twins feature full-fidelity visualisation and photorealism, with every element operating on physics-based principles. This ensures that everything, from manufacturing processes to energy management, behaves exactly as it would in the real world, enabling more precise simulation, analysis, and decision-making.
Companies are increasingly investing in AI-powered technologies to develop 3D environments of their physical sites. Deloitte found that 86 percent of surveyed manufacturing executives believe smart factory solutions will increase competitiveness over the next five years.
Overcoming obstacles in a physics-based simulation
Physics-based simulation offers immense potential for the manufacturing and production industry to improve efficiency and productivity.
Central to this transformation is the ability to decipher and integrate data silos. Spatial computing and AI capabilities facilitate a new level of transparency by bringing together disparate data sets. It allows companies to understand the correlations between different assets and processes, from product design and development to factory planning and operations.
Much like HTML is the standard language of the 2D web, Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) – initially developed by Pixar Animation Studios – serves as the foundation and extensive interchange between 3D and simulation data tools. USD is unique, because it allows designers, developers, and engineers to work in non-disruptive, layered workflows, and enables easier collaboration between teams who can edit and view the same assets simultaneously – essential in an era of hybrid working.
Siemens' partnership with NVIDIA, particularly through the integration of NVIDIA AI and Omniverse APIs into Siemens Teamcenter X, marks a notable advancement in industrial digitalisation. NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform of APIs and SDKs that enable developers to build applications for complex 3D and industrial digitalisation workflows based on OpenUSD. By incorporating these technologies, the partnership will transform how products are designed, manufactured, and operated across industries.
HD Hyundai - known for its large-scale shipbuilding projects - faces enormous challenges due to the size and complexity of its operations. For these types of operations, efficiency and accuracy are a must to avoid costly mistakes and delays. With the integration of Omniverse Cloud APIs with Siemens Teamcenter X, HD Hyundai teams can now take advantage of interoperable 3D workflows and OpenUSD. This integration facilitates a seamless flow of real-time information, eliminating laborious data exports, clean-ups, and data loss. As a result, design and engineering teams can visualise every component of the ship virtually, spot potential issues early, make changes quickly, and avoid spending money on physical prototypes.
In the virtual world, engineers, designers, and decision-makers can interact within a 3D space, make annotations, and share insights efficiently. This capability is pivotal, as it taps into diverse data silos that were previously difficult to consolidate. The integration and instant access to data significantly reduce the lag in data handling and enable teams to understand what’s happening across various engineering tools. Immediate insight into each tool’s output allows for rapid adjustments to inputs, speeding up the design-to-production process, enhancing collaboration, and saving costs while driving innovation. Harnessing these insights means companies can handle complex tasks more effectively and optimise the production lifecycle.
By embracing the opportunities offered by industrial digitalisation, organisations can drastically reduce downtime, scale operations to meet fluctuating demands, and use analytics for deeper insights and better defect detection.
Click here for Part 2 of this article.
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