New breakthroughs over the last few years in 3D graphics and AI have laid the foundation for the next computing platform: the metaverse. 

The metaverse is top of mind for consumers and enterprises alike. What is the metaverse? In the simplest terms, it’s the 3D evolution of the internet.  

The opportunities of the metaverse are endless – just as the 2D internet unlocked markets and economies we could not have predicted, the 3D internet will do the same. Metaverse applications are already here and tangible. Beyond consumer experiences of the metaverse,  leading companies across industries in retail, product design, automotive, media, and scientific research are leveraging the 3D internet to transform 3D workflows, build and operate digital twins, or build virtual training environments to develop artificial intelligence models.

At this month’s NVIDIA GTC conference, many enterprises will share how they’re building these 3D worlds with the help of Universal Scene Description (USD) 3D ecosystem and framework, NVIDIA AI technologies and NVIDIA Omniverse, the computing platform that enables teams to build custom 3D pipelines, and design and operate virtual world simulations.

Here’s how five leading companies are building these virtual worlds, bringing more momentum to the metaverse.

Lowe’s and Kroger deliver engaging virtual retail experiences

The metaverse unlocks new opportunities for digital transformation for industrial companies. 

Lowe’s is also tapping into metaverse technologies to improve the home improvement shopping experience. Previously, Lowe’s announced they were helping customers tap into their creativity by providing metaverse assets for building projects. It was the first major retailer to make metaverse assets freely available. The assets are based on actual products the company offers online and in its stores. 

Lowe’s is also focused on removing friction from home improvement with simulation to create new possibilities for customers and associates. Register for this session to hear from Cheryl Friedman, VP of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, and Mason Sheffield, Director of Creative Technology at Lowe’s Innovation Labs, to discover how Lowe’s is building the future of home improvement. 

Kroger is also reinventing the shopping experience using NVIDIA AI and Omniverse simulation technologies to design and optimize store layouts and find new ways to improve the checkout process for shoppers. With AI, Kroger is focused on improving logistics, ensuring freshness, and reimagining the way customers shop. The team is also looking to further enhance shopping assistance with technologies like Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), a collection of cloud-based AI microservices to build  interactive AI avatars. Discover the progress that’s been made by registering for the GTC session. 

BMW and Siemens bring factories of the future

More companies in manufacturing are turning to digital twin technologies to visualize major facilities and optimize efficiency. BMW Group, one of the largest auto manufacturers, is already building digital twins to test the layout of its automotive factories and boost productivity.

BMW produces vehicles in 31 factories located around the world. To improve the operations and efficiencies of its factories, BMW’s global teams use digital twins to collaborate in real time, in one virtual space — this allows them to design and plan the factories in 3D, and they can all see the changes and updates immediately in Omniverse. Digital humans can also be used in simulations to test out new workflows for worker ergonomics.  

Join this GTC session to see what’s next for BMW, and how the team is looking into optimizing digital twins to reduce factory costs up to 20 percent. With the help of ipolog, a company that develops software for factory and production planning, and NVIDIA Omniverse, BMW is exploring more versions of true-to-life digital twins, and evaluating each according to its impact on the optimized state of operation.

Siemens is also paving the way for making production workflows more efficient through the metaverse. For over a decade, Siemens digital twin technology has helped companies boost productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. 

Now, Siemens is taking the technology even further by enabling the industrial metaverse: photorealistic, physics-based digital twins that allow people to interact and collaborate to solve real-world problems. Siemens and NVIDIA are connecting the Siemens Xcelerator and NVIDIA Omniverse platforms, which will help professionals in manufacturing and product design create digital twins that are represented in full-design fidelity, and operating in real time. 

Learn more about Siemens and their efforts to make production more sustainable by registering for this GTC session, presented by Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board and CEO of Digital Industries at Siemens AG.

ILM takes virtual production to new heights

Companies that create movies and visual effects also need the ability to create physically accurate virtual worlds. Traditional creative processes consist of three phases: pre-production, production and post-production. But with virtual production, studios and creatives are blurring the lines between these once distinct phases, bring post-production earlier in the process, ultimately helping them save time and accelerate production workflows.

Metaverse technology will enable production companies to create stunning virtual worlds and visual effects at a fraction of the cost of more traditional methods. Virtual production will enable artists and studios to break boundaries in storytelling. But creative teams need new tools to virtually collaborate from anywhere to achieve the director’s vision.

Legendary studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is enhancing their virtual production workflows with metaverse technologies. ILM has over 40 years’ worth of material in its reference library — this includes decades of photography, matte paintings, and other assets. Using NVIDIA AI-enabled DeepSearch and Omniverse Enterprise, ILM can rapidly search through their massive library through simple text or 2D images.

Join this GTC session to hear from Landis Fields, the Real-Time Principal Creative at Industrial Light & Magic, and see how the metaverse can help content creators and studios save time, boost productivity and accelerate creativity for virtual productions.

Explore how 3D worlds come to life in the metaverse

Learn more about these five leading companies at NVIDIA’s upcoming GTC conference. The free, virtual conference, which takes place September 19 – 22, will offer over 40 sessions that dive into the metaverse.

At GTC, leading companies across industries will discuss various use cases for the metaverse, from building digital twins for power plants to creating virtual training spaces for brain surgery.

For those interested in creating their own metaverse tools and applications, join the session Connect with Experts: How to Build a Digital Twin.

And don’t miss the special keynote on September 20, where founder and CEO Jensen Huang will share the latest breakthroughs in the metaverse, AI avatars, digital twins and more.