The manufacturing industry has witnessed exponential growth over the past few years as a result of automation and digitalization. Now, another game-changing technology, Metaverse, has the potential to reinvigorate the garment production sector. Metaverse promises to innovate the way people interact with one another on the internet, enabling them to experience an immersive online world by virtually sitting anywhere.

Metaverse can enable apparel manufacturers to produce virtual simulations of existing business processes, like production lines. Furthermore, manufacturers can virtually analyze how varying situations can impact productivity, safety, and more, without delaying production or putting workers’ safety at risk.

Let’s take a broad view of the metaverse and its applications in the apparel manufacturing industry.



What is Metaverse?

The metaverse is an amalgamation of various technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a shared, online 3D space where users can interact and immerse themselves in a virtual environment.

According to a study by PwC, product, and development could lead to a £123.5 billion boost to global GDP by 2030 through the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Metaverse allows us to create virtual worlds that simulate the real world as well as create entirely new environments. In a metaverse, users can interact with each other using avatars. Currently, metaverse technology is influencing many sectors, such as online gaming, social networking, and education, and is beginning to impact the manufacturing industry.

But how does apparel manufacturing fit in the metaverse? Let’s find out…



Applications of Metaverse in Apparel Manufacturing

As you contemplate the metaverse in the manufacturing industry, what’s the first thought that comes to your mind? It may seem uncanny to consider the implications of metaverse technology for the garment industry, which relies heavily on labor. However, in all seriousness, metaverse finds many applications in the apparel manufacturing sector, such as below.


1. Improving Product Design


Metaverse allows you to enhance and optimize product design using VR and AR technologies. It enables product designers to produce digital twin simulations of physical objects and assess how the production of those objects can be more efficient without performing any physical testing.

In the metaverse, product designers can innovate new products/designs that never existed before. It boosts the development of customized products that were rather challenging to produce cost-effectively in a traditional factory setup.

Many high-end fashion brands are embracing the metaverse to develop items that consumers may not wear in real life, but which help them establish the identity of their virtual avatars.

For instance, Balenciaga collaborated with Fortnite to launch new products both virtually, in the Fortnite game, and physically, sold on Balenciaga’s website. It led to a spike in searches for the brand two days after launch. Another luxury brand,  Gucci sold a virtual version of its Dionysus bag on the gaming platform Roblox for a higher price than the physical bag is worth in real life.

In essence, the metaverse can enable product designers to:

• Work with digital twins to gather real-time data from the real world
  
• Build and test novel products
  
• Anticipate manufacturing challenges and quickly implement changes
  
• Improve time to market by incorporating feedback quickly
  




2. Enhancing Manufacturing Processes & Operations


Using metaverse simulations, you can examine a variety of potential factory scenarios and identify different ways to optimize your facility. It can also save you a lot of time and money by anticipating future manufacturing challenges.

The virtual simulation collects and analyzes real-time data from the facility’s operations to suggest improvements, enabling manufacturers to create new workflows and optimize processes.

BMW’s Virtual Factory simulates its production line virtually. It enables workers to plan the production process in greater detail and more smoothly. It allows them to analyze the entire production process and assess how changes to one can affect others.

Shop floor supervisors in garment factories can use virtual environments to observe performance, identify bottlenecks, fix issues at a very granular level, and mitigate challenges in the real world. In addition to an accurate 3D virtual representation of manufacturing facilities, digital twins foster innovation by enabling research teams to derive novel insights from real-time data.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the digital twin market is projected to grow from $6.9 billion
in 2022 to 73.5 billion by 2027.


3. Improved Decision-Making

Business leaders can gain a holistic view of their business through the extension of digital twins of manufacturing facilities into the metaverse. This will enable them to visualize how the unit is working in real-time.

In South Korea, you can experience a metaverse factory that manufactures plastic screws. Combining metaverse and AI, this virtual factory allows visitors wearing VR headsets to operate machines to produce plastic screws in a virtual environment that mirrors a real-world factory. The virtual factory can operate in different settings, like varying speeds of the production process. Moreover, the virtual factory can change settings instantly, unlike a real-world factory that requires a shutdown to make adjustments. The simulated environment also allows defects to be detected instantly.


4. Improving Quality Control

In complex apparel production environments, unanticipated scenarios are bound to occur. These unforeseen situations may cause some serious effects leading to downtimes or malfunctions. Thus, quality inspection is critical in garment production.

Metaverse allows garment manufacturers to perform quality control and maintenance inspections. Using real-time data related to products, processes, and production, a manufacturing unit’s quality inspection can be carried out seamlessly in the metaverse. This will help manufacturers reduce defect rates and decrease maintenance costs as bottlenecks can be identified before they turn into serious issues.


5. Training & development

Simulating the real world is also beneficial in training workers in the garment manufacturing sector. Metaverse opens new opportunities for onboarding new workers and upskilling current workers, enabling them to stay relevant. In a virtual setting, new trainees as well as current operators can practice their skills, without the risk concerning safety and costs.

Manufacturers can also use virtual production lines to teach new skills to workers about machine control and remote maintenance. Training in the metaverse boosts transparency and ensures optimized human resources allocation throughout the supply chain. Additionally, it reduces downtimes and disruptions and enables cost-effective product development in real-world manufacturing units.

Below are some specific advantages of metaverse for factory worker’s training:

• More engaging learning experience
  
• Learn new skills in a simulated environment without unacceptable risks of safety and cost
  
• Practical hands-on approach
  
• Boost innovation
  
• Learning by trial & error
  
• Better understanding and higher retention
  
• Improved employee performance due to unlimited practice sessions
  
• Collaborative learning
  
• Cost-effective product development
  

All in all, garment production in the metaverse can help manufacturers unlock new ways to accelerate product design and streamline operations. It has the potential to create advanced supply chain experiences in a digital world, that we haven’t witnessed before. Leadership decisions will also be significantly impacted by the metaverse, resulting in quicker virtual experimentation and a shorter time to market.

According to a McKinsey report, the metaverse has the potential to produce up to $5 trillion in value by 2030. It calls this opportunity ‘too big’ for companies to ignore.



The Way Ahead

As technological innovations continue to reshape the world faster than ever before, businesses must adopt them quickly to stay competitive in the manufacturing space.

While the integration of new technologies in apparel manufacturing can seem daunting at first, adapting to new processes has enormous potential to offer long-term benefits and prepare you to be more resilient. You must also keep abreast of advances in areas, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and virtual marketplaces as these technologies may open up new opportunities and value as the metaverse takes shape.

Planning to embrace metaverse technology to shape your company’s future? Connect with us today to learn about how Solvei8 can help you harness the power of cutting-edge technologies and drive your transformation journey.

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