New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Mercedes-Benz has announced its collaboration with Nvidia to enhance manufacturing efficiency by creating digital twins of its real-world factories. Utilizing Nvidia's Omniverse platform, Mercedes-Benz aims to design virtual representations of its car factories before actual construction. Jörg Burzer, a board member of the Mercedes-Benz Group, highlighted that these "digital twins" can lead to cost savings, facilitate the testing and revision of ideas, and gather real-world data for future designs.
Nvidia's Omniverse has been positioned as a gateway to the metaverse for some time. The company is championing the Universal Scene Description (USD), initially developed at Pixar, as an open standard for the metaverse, enabling seamless sharing of 3D files across various industries.
While the consumer metaverse has seen some slowdown, the enterprise metaverse, especially for engineers, is flourishing. Mercedes-Benz plans to employ digital twins, supported by Omniverse and USD, to design, collaborate, and manage manufacturing and assembly operations. This initiative will be implemented in the company's manufacturing facilities located in Rastatt, Germany; Kecskemét, Hungary; and Beijing, China. The strategy will also serve as a model for its 30+ factories globally.
The companies emphasized that this "digital first" methodology will enhance efficiency, reduce defects, and save time. It represents a significant evolution in the Mercedes-Benz MO360 production system. The digital twin will allow Mercedes-Benz to test and optimize assembly lines in virtual simulations before actual implementation. The Kecskemét facility, for instance, will use these digital twins in Omniverse to produce vehicles based on the newly introduced Mercedes Modular Architecture.
With the Omniverse platform, Mercedes-Benz can streamline its interactions with suppliers, cutting coordination processes by half. The use of a digital twin can also double the speed of assembly hall construction or conversion while enhancing process quality.
Rev Lebaredian, Nvidia's VP of Omniverse and simulation technology, emphasized the transformative potential of the Omniverse and AI in refining Mercedes-Benz's manufacturing processes, leading to reduced production costs and construction time.
Furthermore, AI's introduction has unveiled new avenues for energy and cost savings. For instance, the Rastatt facility has been pioneering digital production in its paint shop. During pilot testing, AI was used to oversee specific sub-processes, resulting in an impressive 20% energy savings.
