Digital engineering in the industrial metaverse

The industrial metaverse simplifies and accelerates industrial processes. Digital twins and the use of artificial intelligence allow automation tasks to be digitally planned, simulated, and optimized before they actually occur. Schunk is leveraging digital engineering to further develop its portfolio to unlock new potential and increase its customers' productivity.

Industry faces the challenge of producing responsibly, flexibly, and efficiently. The development of new products and the manufacturing concepts required for them must be realized much more quickly today and be flexibly adaptable to variants and variables. The industrial metaverse creates a virtual, interoperable digital space for this. Automation concepts can already be planned, extensively tested, and optimized here – much faster and more comprehensively than would ever be possible in the real world. Virtual simulation not only accelerates the development of new products and systems, but also reduces commissioning times, production interruptions, and costly rework. Schunk is also leveraging this to develop new digital components and advance technological progress in all areas of automation. 

Digital twins for flexible production

At the heart of every simulation is the digital twin, a digital representation of a real object or process. This allows new processes and the interaction of the involved process modules to be simulated in real time. Schunk follows a five-stage plan when developing realistic digital twins: Each stage brings the components and assemblies from clamping technology, gripping technology, and automation technology closer to the perfect digital representation.

This model not only stores the electrical properties and interfaces of the products, but also their physical behavior, such as force, friction coefficient, and wear. The company has already digitally described the complete physical behavior of its first products, including new mechatronic parallel and centric grippers. Schunk sees significant added value, especially in the further development of its AI-supported modules. For example, the AI ​​of the HERMES AWARD-winning 2D Grasping Kit is trained in the industrial metaverse using specific tasks to open up new areas of application in intelligent handling.

Reimagining virtual reality

As a technology pioneer, Schunk pursues a clear vision: to simplify its customers' entry into automation. "By simulating automation tasks, we can quickly offer them a sophisticated and highly productive solution optimized for their manufacturing needs," says Timo Gessmann, CTO of Schunk. "Thanks to AI, we can greatly simplify engineering. With the help of digital tools and simulations, all variants can be digitally validated within a very short time." Schunk relies on technology partnerships in the development of digital services. For example, the company uses tools such as ISG Virtous or Nvidia Omniverse for the simulation and project planning of complex automation projects.

The company uses partnerships such as the one with Nvidia as a catalyst for the development of AI-based solutions in the field of simulation and production optimization. Through simulations in the industrial metaverse, Schunk creates synthetic data that supports the training of AI models. At the NVIDIA GTC in March 2025, the leading developer conference for artificial intelligence, Schunk and Schaeffler presented a collaboratively developed simulated robotics assembly application in which the Schunk-developed 5-finger hand inserts SVH screws into a housing. The application demonstrates how the boundaries of intelligent automation can be expanded and applied to industry. Schunk offers suitable end-of-arm components and the open digital building blocks for every type of robotics, from industrial robotics to cobots and humanoid robotics.