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MERIT at Fraunhofer IPK: Exploring the Industrial Metaverse in Practice

TalTech representative Tõnis Raamets participated in the Tech Day “Industrial Metaverse” at Fraunhofer IPK in Berlin, gaining valuable insights into how digital twins, IoT-based production data, extended reality, industrial data spaces, cybersecurity and AI-driven simulation are shaping the next generation of manufacturing and engineering education. 

On 9 June 2026, Fraunhofer IPK hosted the Tech Day “Industrial Metaverse” at the Production Technology Center Berlin. The event brought together researchers, industry practitioners and technology providers to discuss how virtual environments, real-time data and collaborative digital ecosystems can support the transformation of industrial processes. The programme included expert talks, an interactive roundtable, an extended reality demo tour, a hands-on workshop, and sessions on NVIDIA Omniverse and industrial data spaces. 

For the MERIT project, the visit was highly relevant because the industrial metaverse is no longer only a future-oriented concept. It is becoming a practical framework for connecting digital twins, simulation models, IoT-based production data, extended reality and AI-supported decision-making into one integrated industrial and learning environment. This is directly connected to MERIT’s aim of strengthening advanced digital skills and supporting the development of modern engineering education that reflects the real needs of industry. 

A central message of the event was that the industrial metaverse cannot be built by one organization alone. It requires collaboration between researchers, companies, technology providers and educators. The discussions highlighted that successful implementation depends not only on advanced software platforms, but also on data sovereignty, secure access, clear governance, semantic integration, high-quality 3D models, reliable production data and openness to new technologies. These aspects are especially important when industrial metaverse solutions move from demonstration environments into real manufacturing companies. 

One of the most important foundations of the industrial metaverse is reliable IoT-based data collection. Machines, workstations, sensors, production systems and operator interfaces need to provide accurate and timely data in order to make digital twins and virtual environments useful for decision support. Without high-quality real-time production data, a digital twin remains only a static model. With reliable IoT data, however, companies can monitor production performance, detect bottlenecks, compare scenarios and make better decisions before changes are implemented in the physical factory. 

From the perspective of manufacturing companies, this also raises an important question of cybersecurity and trusted data sharing. Industrial data often contains sensitive information about production processes, machine performance, product quality, capacity, costs and know-how. Therefore, data must be collected, processed and shared in a way that protects company interests and keeps the company in control of how its data is used. Secure digital infrastructure, clear data ownership, access rights, encryption, governance models and trusted industrial data spaces are essential for building confidence between partners. 

This is particularly relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises. SMEs can benefit significantly from simulation-based decision support, virtual testing, extended reality training and data-driven process improvement, but they also need solutions that are secure, scalable and understandable. The industrial metaverse should therefore not be seen only as a high-end technology environment for large corporations. It can also offer practical value for SMEs when it is built step by step, starting from real production problems, reliable data collection and clear business needs. 

Several topics discussed during the Tech Day directly connect with MERIT’s educational goals. The session on how the digital factory acts as a bridge between physical factories and the metaverse highlighted the importance of understanding production systems as both physical and virtual environments. The extended reality demo tour showed how immersive technologies can be applied in industrial practice. The session on NVIDIA Omniverse introduced possible use cases and lessons learned from virtual industrial environments, while the discussion on industrial data spaces underlined the importance of interoperability, data governance, cybersecurity and trusted data exchange between industrial partners. 

For TalTech and the MERIT community, the visit provided important input for further developing hands-on learning activities in areas such as digital twins, IoT data collection, industrial simulation, extended reality, AI-supported production analysis, cybersecurity and secure industrial data sharing. These topics are becoming increasingly important in engineering education because future specialists need to understand not only individual technologies, but also how these technologies work together in real industrial systems. 

The event also showed that the industrial metaverse is as much about people and processes as it is about technology. Successful implementation requires interdisciplinary thinking, cooperation and the ability to translate real industrial challenges into digital models and data-driven solutions. Engineers of the future need to be able to work with production data, understand simulation results, evaluate cybersecurity risks, use immersive tools and communicate effectively with different stakeholders. 

The key takeaway from the Fraunhofer IPK visit is that the industrial metaverse should be treated as a collaborative and secure digital ecosystem. It combines technologies such as IoT, digital twins, simulation, extended reality, artificial intelligence and industrial data spaces, but its real value depends on trust, data quality, interoperability and practical use cases. For education, this means that students need opportunities to experiment with virtual factories, real or realistic production data, secure data exchange, simulation models and immersive environments. For industry, it means that digital transformation can be approached step by step, starting from concrete production problems and gradually building secure, data-driven and interoperable digital solutions. 

The MERIT project will continue to use international knowledge exchange opportunities to strengthen the connection between advanced digital technologies, industrial needs and modern engineering education. The Fraunhofer IPK Tech Day offered a valuable example of how research organizations, companies and education partners can work together to shape the future of industrial digital transformation.