Siemens celebrates 175 Years and looks forward to the Industrial Metaverse

Guest post by Kirstie Affleck

175 Years of Siemens Technology and the Industrial Metaverse

175 years of Siemens was celebrated with tours of Siemensstadt in Spandau, Berlin, including extensive Siemens archives, followed by a top class Gala evening in the Schaltwerk factory. Talks were given by Siemens CE0 Roland Busch, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Nathalie von Siemens, great great grand-daughter of founder Werner von Siemens.  It was a celebration of the roughly 4 million people who have been employed by Siemens and 175 years of research, invention, and development including laying a transatlantic cable (1875), and the first electric tram (1881), and SIMATIC (1958).

CEO Roland Busch explains in his opening speech at the celebrations ‘there’s a term that we’re now hearing with increasing frequency: the “industrial metaverse.” Working together with the American company NVIDIA, my colleagues simulated a photorealistic digital twin of a factory in just a few weeks. In the future, experts will literally be able to immerse themselves in the digital twin and work together better virtually – and in real time – almost as if they were actually on site. A few months ago, we launched Siemens Xcelerator, our digital business platform that also accelerates our customers’ journey into the industrial metaverse.

Siemens 175 Years and the Industrial Metaverse

Xcelerator launched on June 29^th 2022 and is expected to make digitalization easier, faster, and at scale. By using real-world data a digital twin simulation is created that can predict how a product or service will behave, and allow product alterations within hours instead of weeks or months. Xcelerator allows for design of a product or service to be carried out entirely digitally before going to production, thereby avoiding potential costly mistakes.

Data collected from the ‘real’ product or plant is then fed back into the Digital Twin to allow for real time adjustments. An example of this is Simrod, a fully electric sports car that was developed and improved using Simcenter, a key component within Xcelerator. Going forward, Siemens have partnered up with Volta trucks to bring e-trucks into cities.  

Siemensstadt is being redeveloped using Xcelerator. Peter Körte, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Siemens AG explained how Siemensstadt Square is customer zero for the Siemens Xcelerator platform. Working in partnership with Bentley who provide infrastructure engineering software solutions, Siemensstadt Square will be built twice, first digitally and then in reality. Bentley plugged the digital twin into gaming software to give an immersive tour.

The 73 hectare historical industrial district is being reconceptualised and rebuilt in a sustainable and smart way. Described as a ‘City of Short Distances’ the aim is that people will be able to access the digital and real world from the new square that is to be developed in the centre of the urban zone.

Ground works for the construction have already begun with digitalization throughout the complex, manufacturing hubs moving to North and South of the district, with construction to begin in 2023, and an expected completion date of 2035. 2700 apartments are to be built with the intention of people being able to live, work, and socialise with minimal travel needs.

The S-Bahn railway is to be rebuilt and reopened connecting Seimensstadt Square via electric carbon neutral mobility to the rest of Berlin and the world. A mix of renewable energy sources will be utilised including solar and geothermal, and using a ‘sponge city concept’ to regulate local rainwater. The investment by Siemens into one of their biggest projects will be €600 million over the next five – ten years. Perhaps it will be completed in time for Siemens 200 year anniversary.