MR4B - Mixed Reality for Business
Mixed reality for industry and trade in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region
The WIR! alliance MR4B – Mixed Reality for Business was founded in 2022 by X-Visual and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.
With over 60 partners from industry, trade, science, and business, practical mixed reality applications in conjunction with AI technologies are being researched and implemented.
The goal is to establish a competence center for industrial applications of virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI in the Berlin and Brandenburg metropolitan region.
X-Visual coordinates the alliance, develops the strategy together with BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, and is actively involved in several projects as a partner.
The WIR! alliance MR4B
Shaping the transformation of industry with mixed reality!
Our vision
In our WIR! alliance MR4B – Mixed Reality For Business – companies, science and technology providers get together with the aim of strengthening the regional economy for the future through the use of innovative technologies.
Together, we are researching and developing low-threshold mixed reality applications for industry and industry-related trades. Our innovation network is growing continuously and supports its partners through networking, knowledge exchange, visibility and the realization of project ideas.
Our goals
In the WIR! alliance MR4B, practical and easily accessible mixed reality solutions in conjunction with AI technologies are being developed and applied across alliances. This enables industrial companies and industry-related trades to actively shape structural change in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Our alliance supports companies in the development of new, innovative processes and business models, thereby strengthening their competitiveness and future viability. Mixed reality is being established as an integral part of the modern workplace, creating new, attractive jobs.
Our partners
In the WIR! alliance MR4B, companies network with science and research institutions as well as technology providers and stakeholders from business and society. Our open alliance is growing continuously – get in touch with us!
The WIR! alliance is coordinated by the Adlershof-based software company X-Visual Technologies and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
X-Visual as project partner
KEPLER
The KEPLER project is developing a mixed reality application for 3D layout planning in industrial plant construction that integrates data models from building planning (BIM) and the process industry (DEXPI).
In the highly complex planning projects of plant construction, all trades involved are thus enabled to work together on a common database in a time- and resource-efficient manner.
The collaborative multi-user approach simplifies early (pre- and basic) engineering and strengthens communication and the exchange of experience between all project participants. This creates a system model that is coordinated by all trades early on in the planning process, which can be exported for further use in applications for detailed planning.
MR4SO
The MR4SafeOperations project is developing mixed reality and IoT-supported processes to accompany, support and document routine operating and maintenance work (O&M) in hazardous environments of industrial plants.
Manual work processes, such as taking samples or reading out measurement data, as well as communication between B&W personnel and the control room, are facilitated using smart glasses and hands-free information, and working times in hazardous environments are reduced.
The aim is to enable the broad application of mixed reality end devices and IoT technologies in industrial environments and thus significantly increase the working conditions and safety of B&W personnel.
MR4HeatPump
The aim of the MR4HeatPump project is to improve quality and reduce costs in the planning process and during the commissioning of heat pumps in office and industrial buildings, educational facilities and apartment buildings, for example. This is achieved through the use of innovative technologies and processes such as LiDAR scans, mixed reality (MR) and adaptive control.
With the help of smartphones, all relevant information on the building envelope, energy status, heat demand and technical equipment can be recorded. LiDAR scans are used to create a precise 3D model of the rooms, which is supplemented by thermal imaging.
A digital twin of the building is created using a simplified BIM model and existing operating data and transferred to a virtual environment. Augmented reality is used for on-site communication.
MR4H2
With the growing share of renewable energies, the coupling of energy sectors is becoming increasingly important in order to flexibly control the demand for electricity, heat, and hydrogen and to make the system more efficient. Flexible tools for planning, operating, and maintaining plants are needed to ramp up the hydrogen economy.
In the MR4H2 research topic, methods for planning, operation, and maintenance are being investigated using a test plant with 240 kW PEM electrolysis, a heat pump, and a gas pressure control (measurement) system. Mixed reality technologies (VR/AR) and modularization (MTP) enable parallel development of concepts, personnel training, early fault detection, and flexible planning over the life cycle.
This enables companies to optimize processes, develop new services, and more easily leverage experience from hydrogen and sector coupling. Further goals include the digitalization of natural gas infrastructure and imaging techniques for the early detection of potential hydrogen emissions.
LiDAR2BIM
LiDAR2BIM develops a comprehensive, open toolchain and simplifies the planning process through: 1. Automated recording of existing technical installations, object recognition, and classification; 2. Transformation into BIM Light objects as proxy elements for engineering use.
The project addresses the high cost of 3D laser scanners by using LiDAR technology in consumer devices (e.g., iPhone), which can be used without special training.
The results show which technologies and methods are suitable for mixed reality user projects in MR4B. Findings are primarily incorporated into the KEPLER, MR4SafeOperations, and MR-Datenhub projects.
Shape the transformation of the industry and become an MR4B partner!
