Into The Metaverse: DP World’s bet on fresh technology to revamp logistics

Logistics is no easy business. Most companies face a gamut of like problems of shipping, supply chain, cargo management, regulations. Add scale and the need for efficient interconnectivity, execution only becomes harder. 

For a company like DP World with nearly 295 unit spread across 78 countries, the main workaround for these concerns is technology. “Technological backing helps control the chain from point A to B with ease,” explains Pradeep Desai, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), DP World to YourStory’s Gulf Edition. This Dubai-based company is looking to consider all tech-related options to improve operations, including solutions based in the metaverse.

These ideas will be executed by a small seed team consisting of 15 members whose mandate is to work on different ideas. This team will be given all necessary resources and ample amount of time to find solutions, says Pradeep. 

While considering solutions in the metaverse, DP World is treading lightly. “It is important to be very clear about the use cases you are building for,” says Pradeep. According to him DP World is focused on creating concrete use cases in its implementation of metaverse technology. 

It plans to implement these metaverse solutions in two months. 

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UAE, India students build metaverse logistics solutions at DP World's Big Tech Project

Getting metaverse ready

When the company first began looking at metaverse-based solutions, cost was a factor. It considered that these solutions may require high investments. However, they realized that much of its processes already had a stable digital environment. 

Pradeep illustrates this with an example of how the solution can be used in Dry Docks.

”For example, when you repair a ship, the inspection can be performed in an immersive environment,” he says.

“There is a training centre in Dubai for crane operators. There are screens that simulate a 3D environment with the infrastructure,” says Pradeep. DP World’s box bay terminal has automation in place where goods in facilities are stacked up in a digital manner, that assists in removal of cargo even at the lowest rung—almost in a jenga-like manner. 

As a start, it will look to create use cases particularly in collaboration and training, after which commercial use-cases will follow. A team of close to 15 people will look into executing these ideas. It is also taking into consideration how the metaverse can be leveraged for stronger use cases in logistics. 

Looking to the future 

Another digital push the company has already done is that every truck in the terminal has an Internet of Things (IoT) device, depicting the movement of the trucks on the map. To add on this DP World decided to run The Big Tech Project. This challenge brought ideators and innovators from universities across India and UAE to solve challenges in trade and logistics using technology.

Students from the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore, India, worked on a solution that leveraged the metaverse to give students a real-time understanding of daily life in different careers and help them make informed decisions.  

Another team from IIIT Bangalore worked on building a virtual reality (VR) experience for both customers and wholesalers visiting the Dragon Mart mall in Dubai. The third team, comprising students of IIT Kharagpur, built a digital-twin solution to tackle harbour congestion, unpredictable demand, and unreliable operations. 

The winning prize went to the team from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Abu Dhabi, UAE, which presented a 3D visual guidance equipment maintenance and inspection system for port terminal equipment. 

“The idea is can you see and understand the operations in different terminals,” he added. 

According to most studies on the subject, metaverse-based solutions would result in significant reduction of carbon footprint, would help reduce and would help make production more precise. However, since this technology is nascent, it remains to be seen how successful it will be. 

DP World is looking create over 700 jobs in the tech. The team has already hired over 500 individuals across tech jobs. In India alone DP World handles 28% of the export and import business.