Industrial Metaverse: A proactive human-robot collaboration perspective

Human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience are becoming core values in modern manufacturing, with human–robot collaboration (HRC) in high demand for flexible automation. However, human–robotic swarms are typically designed to target one specific procedure and cannot fully share their autonomy. The Metaverse, characterized by socialized avatars in a virtual-physical fused world, holds the promise of Proactive HRC. In line with this evolutionary roadmap, this paper presents a futuristic perspective on the industrial Metaverse for Proactive HRC and identifies its six embodiments. A representative universe that supports online and offline human users/operators in the design, machining, and maintenance of aeroengine turbine blades is introduced to spark and accelerate future implementation of the industrial Metaverse for Proactive HRC. The current challenges and future opportunities of this paradigm are also highlighted. It is hoped that this work can attract further investigation and discussions, providing useful insights to both academic and industrial practitioners in smart manufacturing.