It’s still early days for the metaverse, with technology players big and small trying out various initiatives to see what sticks.

Nokia and global-accounting firm EY released a research paper in June 2023 entitled ‘The metaverse at work’. Surveying 850 business leaders across six countries and four industry verticals, the report is an in-depth look at how the industrial metaverse is developing.

Of the companies with plans to enter the metaverse, 58 percent have already deployed or piloted at least one use case. Some 80 percent of respondents with experience in the industrial metaverse believe the use cases they’ve tested will have a significant or transformative effect on their business.

Immersive technology with support for industry

Here in Nokia’s RXRM team, we’re working hard on bringing the power of 360° high-definition video and spatial audio into this industrial metaverse. RXRM stands for Real-time eXtended Reality Multimedia. It’s a solution that uses Nokia’s video-streaming technology to stream to the end user only that part of a 360° video being viewed at any given moment.

This enables bandwidth requirements to be reduced by as much as 90 percent, while preserving near-zero latency and without compromising quality. A person wearing a head-mounted display with the RXRM Media Viewer application can freely change their view within the 360° field of vision. It’s a fully immersive and uninterrupted video and audio experience.

We’ve just released a software update for Nokia RXRM that adds a full user interface for managing video and audio consumption from a computer. You can also now integrate RXRM with outside information sources, such as those used for IoT data feeds, or for analytics and reporting. Recording and playback features allow you to watch video streams later for any post-incident analysis that may be necessary.

Making mining operations safer and more productive

There’s vast potential for this immersive technology to make industrial processes safer, faster and more cost efficient. We’re already seeing this starting to happen, with RXRM customers in different fields using the technology for a variety of use cases.

One of our early RXRM customers is Callio Pyhäjärvi, Finland. This unique Finnish company has repurposed Europe’s deepest mine (Pyhäsalmi: 1,445 meters) into a multidisciplinary operating environment used for R&D, training, storage, workshop maintenance and more. These facilities are built into chambers on several different levels. Callio has invested in Nokia 5G Private Wireless network, on top of which the RXRM solution is deployed.

Callio is integrating Nokia RXRM into its operations in several ways to enhance situational awareness and increase safety. This includes embedding the technology into underground vehicles, as well as integrating Nokia RXRM-enabled 360° cameras into the mine’s underground rescue training center. In the rare event of an incident that requires personnel to seek safety for instance in the rescue chamber, the 360° video feed will enable rescuers to communicate with the group and assess any injuries. With RXRM the different situations and locations in the mine can be shown during the training without actually going into the mine, making training more efficient and safe.

“Thanks to Nokia RXRM, our operations in the mine have become even safer. We’ve now got eyes where we need them,” says Sakari Nokela, Chief Development Officer at Callio. “We’re also using the media feeds to try out various remote operation use cases that can be replicated in mines around the world.”

Photos: Normet & Callio Pyhäjärvi

Unlocking benefits for a range of industries

Mining is just one of the many industry environments where we see emerging use cases for Nokia RXRM. The technology is also being used for teleoperation, situational awareness and real-time information sharing in port & maritime operations, manufacturing, emergency-response scenarios, and more.

For example, an international technology giant is trialing the use of Nokia RXRM to convey the process values of industrial devices. With the values visually overlaid on RXRM video streams, the company’s operators can monitor equipment at a glance.

All of this is just the beginning for 360° video in the industrial metaverse. A test case today may emerge as a widespread use case tomorrow. The possibilities are limitless as we move forward into this exciting new world of immersive experiences.

Nokia welcomes you to join us on this journey.

Nokia RXRM will be showcased at Mobile World Congress 2024, Barcelona Feb 26-29. To book a meeting, contact the author Petri Mannonen | LinkedIn.