Microsoft and Kawasaki Team Up on a Metaverse-Themed Robotics Project

Leading technology giants Microsoft and Kawasaki have collaborated in a metaverse-themed project to build robots.
Image source: kawasakirobotics.com

Quick take:

  • Microsoft and Kawasaki Robotics have teamed up to bring the HoloLens maker’s famed “industrial metaverse” to life.
  • It is a factory floor where workers wear HoloLens headsets to help with production.
  • Kawasaki will use Microsoft’s technology to help build robots.

Microsoft’s famed “Industrial Metaverse” is about to become more popular after partnering with Kawasaki Robotics on a new project. In an announcement made on Tuesday, Kawasaki will use Microsoft’s industrial metaverse to create robots. 

The industrial metaverse is simply a flooring factory where workers wear Microsoft HoloLens headsets to help in production, repair and managing supply chains. Launched first in 2016, HoloLens seems to have gained more traction amid the metaverse craze.

HoloLens offers enables users to experience augmented reality allowing them to overlay 3D virtual models of products on real-life structures. The headset initially penetrated the medical and design & construction industries before the metaverse brought up an all-new dimension to its use-cases.

Microsoft’s industrial metaverse encompasses more than just wearing augmented reality headsets. The ecosystem involves blending multiple technologies including the Windows maker’s cloud computing resources to help workers build products quicker and more efficiently.

One of the promotional concepts of the industrial metaverse references a situation where, instead of calling a repair person to come to the warehouse to perform various tasks, a HoloLens headset can be used, allowing the worker to chat with colleagues on-site and walk them through the process with visual illustrations from augmented reality.

Kawasaki is not the first company to leverage Microsoft’s innovative industrial metaverse to speed up the production cycle. Pennsylvania-based food processor company Heinz said it will use the industrial metaverse in Ketchup companies.

Microsoft executives think the industrial metaverse offers a glimpse of what immersive experiences could accomplish in the future amid the rapid adoption of 3D virtual technologies.

Speaking to CNBC last week, Jessica Hawk, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of mixed reality said: “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.”

The technology conglomerate bought global gaming giant Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal earlier this year as part of its grand strategy for the metaverse. 

Speaking at the time, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said by combining the strategic benefits of the video game developer with Microsoft’s products (Xbox, HoloLens and Azure cloud services), the acquisition could help create the infrastructure required to realise the full potential of the metaverse.

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