igus wins the renowned Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2024 in two categories

Reason to celebrate: the international jury of experts of the renowned competition for communication design Red Dot Award has honoured the open virtual-reality platform iguverse in two categories: “Virtual Reality Installations” and “Exhibition Design Elements”. The award recognises the motion plastics specialist’s efforts to offer SMEs barrier-free access to innovative 3D technologies and thus support their global competitiveness. Customers can present and design products faster, more efficiently and more sustainably without having to draw on their own development resources. They also save costs by using the iguverse: for example, companies can downsize exhibition stands and have digital exhibits created instead of investing in expensive exhibition models. igus is using the recognition as a tailwind to further develop the functionalities of the iguverse.

Put on VR glasses, pick up a controller and dive into the 3D world as an avatar: more and more companies are relying on virtual reality (VR) to break new ground in construction and planning, training and marketing. According to a recent study by the IT industry association BITKOM, one in five German companies is already using individual VR applications, 36% are planning to do so and 57% believe that VR is very important for future competitiveness. “During this phase, it is crucial to also address small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited budgets and expertise so that they don’t miss out on the technology of the future,” says Marco Thull, Head of Marketing at igus. Building on the VR platform of the Cologne-based start-up RAUM, the companies developed the iguverse as a digital platform for a barrier-free introduction to VR. It is primarily intended to help SMEs present and design products in a faster, more efficient and more sustainable way. Even users without technical knowledge can get started without problems. Upon request, igus will even take on one of the most complex hurdles to date: building digital twins of products for virtual space.

igus received an award in two categories

igus has now been awarded the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2024 for this solution. This international competition now also honours VR installations that are not only technically advanced, but also impress with their creative design and lasting effect on the audience and opening up new perspectives. An international jury of 24 experts awarded the iguverse in two categories: “Virtual Reality Installations” and “Exhibition Design Elements”. “We are delighted with the awards, as the Red Dot Award is an important platform for recognising and promoting innovative VR projects,” says Thull. As recently as 2023, the iguverse was honoured twice with the German Brand Award, an industry prize for exemplary brand management and exceptional marketing projects.

“We are only at the beginning of the VR journey.”

The Red Dot Award jury particularly recognised the efforts to make it easier for SMEs to access 3D technologies at trade shows. “In virtual showrooms, size does not matter. Even gigantic drilling rigs can be presented in a realistic way that would never be possible on a classic trade show stand,” says Thull. Jan Olfenbüttel, Head of Sales & Marketing at H+B technics, confirms this: “Thanks to the digital twins of our lift systems for boats and yachts, we can bring our products to life anytime, anywhere and even show them in operation. This is hardly possible at trade shows. At the same time, we save costs. Instead of investing in expensive trade show models, we can easily and flexibly integrate new 3D models in VR and thus show much more even without a large stand area.” Abicor Binzel, an expert in welding and cutting technology, is also convinced of the metaverse’s potential. Says Laura Lenk, Digital Business Development at Abicor Binzel: “Thanks to the collaboration with igus, we were able to present a VR showroom of our laser welding and soldering portfolio at the world’s leading trade show “SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2023” and increase immersive interaction with customers. We were able to show to scale how our products are used in the automotive industry and discuss questions by means of a specific application. The positive response from trade show visitors has prompted igus to further develop the platform’s functionalities. “We have now managed to largely automate the generation of digital twins. If customers send us a STEP file, we can produce a 3D model from it within a few hours,” Thull explains. igus itself is also experimenting with ways of using VR for employee training and planning factory extensions. Says Thull: “We are only at the beginning of the VR journey. The possibilities are virtually endless.”