Siemens partners with Sony to dive deeper into industrial metaverse

Made for digital creators, the new metaverse-focused headset made by Siemens and Sony is expected to launch later in 2024.

Siemens, the German multinational technology conglomerate, has teamed up with Sony to venture into the metaverse with a focus on industrial applications. The collaboration is set to introduce a new mixed-reality headset in 2024, catering specifically to professional designers and engineers rather than gamers.

In an interview with CNBC, Siemens CEO Roland Busch said the new headset for mixed reality equipped with artificial intelligence, aims to enhance productivity for creators and manufacturers. The device is complemented by Siemens’ software, including cut and 3D software, but is designed more for professional designers than for gamers.

“So, it’s [headset] really geared for the professional consumers, which are creators, engineers, mechanical engineers. And this hats in combination with a software, which we are offering: there are cut software, 3D software that makes big difference and can boost really productivity in the design and creativity in design, very much so. So it’s different from that what you see as a headset for gaming, for example.”

Roland Busch

As part of the collaboration, Siemens is leveraging NVIDIA’s resources for creating “photorealistic images,” and Amazon Web Services is also playing a role in the project. The unveiled headset, showcased at CES in Las Vegas, utilizes Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip and features Sony’s micro OLED displays with a 4K resolution per eye in addition to external accessories, such as ring and stylus/pointer controllers, for real-time interaction with digital objects.

While the latest development marks Siemens’ entry into the headset domain, Sony has been actively involved in the metaverse industry for a while now. In addition to the PlayStation VR 2, a virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5, Sony partnered with Google and Qualcomm in exploring mixed reality. The collaboration with Siemens indicates Sony’s pursuit of fresh perspectives in technology, aligning with the growing interest of major industry players like Apple in the metaverse space.