SCHUNK: Digital Engineering in the Industrial Metaverse

Industry faces the challenges of responsible, flexible and efficient production. The development of new products and the required production concepts must now be carried out much faster and must be adaptable to variants and variables. The industrial metaverse creates a virtual, interoperable digital space for this purpose. Here, automation concepts can be planned in advance, extensively tested and optimised – much faster and more comprehensively than would 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 subsequent modifications. SCHUNK also uses this approach to develop new digital components and to support technological progress in all areas of automation.

Digital twins for flexible production

At the heart of every simulation is a digital twin – a virtual representation of a physical object or process. This model enables the real-time simulation of new workflows and interactions between different process components. SCHUNK uses a five-stage approach to developing accurate digital twins. Each stage progressively refines components and assemblies, from clamping and gripping through to automation technology, to bring them as close as possible to their physical equivalents. These digital twins include not only electrical properties and interfaces, but also physical behaviour, such as force, friction and wear. The company has successfully digitally modelled the complete physical behaviour of several products, including new mechatronic parallel and centric grippers. A significant advance is SCHUNK's AI-supported 2D Grasping Kit, which automates repetitive sorting and handling tasks. This kit includes a camera with a lens, an industrial PC, AI software and an application-specific gripper, enabling reliable handling of randomly arranged parts even under varying conditions. The innovative design of the 2D Grasping Kit won the prestigious HERMES AWARD at Hannover Messe, setting new standards in flexible and intelligent automation.

Reconfiguring virtual realities

As a technology pioneer, SCHUNK pursues a clear vision: to make it easier for its customers to enter the world of automation. “By simulating automation tasks, we offer them a highly sophisticated and highly productive solution, quickly optimised for their production requirements,” says Timo Gessmann, CTO of SCHUNK. “With AI, we can significantly simplify engineering. With digital tools and simulations, all variants can be digitally verified in an instant.” SCHUNK relies on technology partnerships when developing digital services. For example, the company uses tools such as ISG Virtous or NVIDIA Omniverse to simulate and plan complex automation projects. Partnerships, such as the one with NVIDIA, serve as a catalyst for the development of AI-based solutions for simulation and production optimisation. Through simulations in the industrial metaverse, SCHUNK generates synthetic data to support the training of AI models.

Timo Gessmann, CTO of SCHUNK	SVH five-finger hand, developed by SCHUNK

At NVIDIA GTC in March 2025, the leading developer conference for artificial intelligence, SCHUNK and Schaeffler presented a jointly developed simulated robotic assembly application in which the SVH five-finger hand, developed by SCHUNK, screws components into a housing. This application demonstrates how the boundaries of intelligent automation can be expanded and harnessed for industry. SCHUNK offers suitable end-of-arm components for all types of robotics, from industrial robots to cobots and humanoid robots, as well as open digital building blocks for these applications.