Definition

The world around us is a culmination of the way our species has evolved. We have gone from cave dwellers to space explorers with thousands of achievements in between. There is so much that we can credit ourselves for creating and normalizing. With each passing day, we continue to find new ways to make the world smarter, better connected, and more intuitive. There is innovation across all walks of life and our innate desire to continue to make things better pushes us to the absolute limit of what we believed was possible. If reality was not enough, we are now venturing into the digital realm with the metaverse.

The term metaverse is being used quite a lot nowadays and for good reason. It is one of the most exciting innovations to have come out in recent times. The simplest way to describe the metaverse is as a digital landscape designed to replicate the real world. Yes, this does sound like one very iconic game but it is also so much more than a game. In the metaverse, you are replicating the real world and using real-world tools in it as opposed to something like in-game currency. One of the biggest selling points of the metaverse is the idea of creating a digital economy i.e. buying, selling, and creating different goods. Furthermore, the metaverse aims to blur the lines between different ‘metaverses’ making it easier to transfer digital assets from one to another.

The Metaverse – Explained

The metaverse is a slippery slope that is still trying to find its footing. Many different aspects of it remain misunderstood and structural limitations still come the way. This article will weigh both perspectives and present a case for whether it is a fad or the future.

The Good

When speaking on the metaverse, it is important to consider how much is possible with such a concept. Picture this, a digital landscape where there are millions of people living, working, shopping, playing games, and establishing a sense of community. Better yet, this is done from the comfort of their homes. In a world where there are billions of devices around us in all shapes and sizes, this has never been easier. Moreover, the promise that the metaverse shows has compelled some of the biggest names in the business to get on board with the idea of it. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has famously rebranded Facebook to Meta and has invested billions to develop it and has plans to continue to do so.

In many ways, the metaverse is considered the next evolution of the internet. The idea of creating a unified, persistent, shared, and interactive virtual space to replicate the real world is the core of the metaverse. This has been pushed further thanks to technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Virtual reality is the most popular gateway into the metaverse since it allows you to transport yourself into the aforementioned virtual worlds and allows you to interact. Many industry titans such as Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm, and Nvidia are diverting immense resources to develop it.

The Bad

While the metaverse might seem like one for the future, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. As the internet has proven, where there is sunshine there is also rain. For all the good that the metaverse promises, let us delve into what holds it back and possibly restricts it from its promised future.

The metaverse is sold as a digital landscape where people interact with each other on different levels. For these interactions to take place, the user behind them must be actively controlling them. This involves investing a lot of time and effort into controlling your avatar to go and do things. The metaverse is the real deal but it is not autonomous. You cannot leave it on autopilot and forget about it. Realistically, something like this can’t be entirely working on its own. It requires someone running things and for any normal person, there is no way they can devote a large amount of time to the metaverse. This sort of limitation may prove to become a profound hurdle in how the metaverse evolves.

Tech Behind the Metaverse

With any major innovation, there are certain technologies that power it and the metaverse is no different. Among the major technologies that will and are powering the metaverse, the most important are:

AI

If there is one piece of technology that has the power to change the world, it is artificial intelligence. In the metaverse, AI plays a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity of the digital landscape. The metaverse aims to promote a decentralized world where there is no singular governing body in control. With AI, it becomes easier for users to remain in control of what is going on as opposed to governing bodies like in the real world. Since the metaverse is built using blockchain, it is important to verify the identities of everyone that accesses it. Similar to biometric verification in phones and laptops, the metaverse would leverage self-sovereign identities which do the same job, only digitally.

The Internet of things (IoT)

When we hear the term IoT, we think of smart bulbs that let us control the color of our lights. In reality, the IoT is so much more than all of this. At its core, it allows for automation and autonomous usage which could aid in the growth of the metaverse. The metaverse aims to replicate the reality we live in, only digitally. Seeing as we have built the world around us based on the knowledge we have managed to gather over the centuries, the metaverse is no different. For the metaverse to truly grow and expand as anticipated, real-world data must be fed into it.

The IoT uses millions of devices, sensors, and software that work together to automate processes and solve problems. Having good internet effortlessly ties all of this together into a convenient and effective package. For ESP users, click here to learn more about Spectrum’s various options to choose from.

Extended Reality

The term extended reality is an umbrella term that comprises virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).

If someone wants to experience what the metaverse can be like, these trees are the best ways to do so. Using VR, we can transport ourselves from our living room to a 1v1 with a flame-breathing dragon. You can explore the depths of the ocean or the outreaches of space. Remember, all of this is happening from the comfort of your home which is one of the precursors for the metaverse.  With AR, you can layer the metaverse on top of the world we live in and bring it with us wherever you go.

Since AR is possible with your smartphone, you can carry your metaverse life around. This has mammoth room for growth since it would open doors not just for games, but also for brands to use it as a tool for sales. For example, a brand could ask you to use AR in their stores to purchase digital assets that would instantly join your metaverse. Retail is seen as one of the major forces that will drive the metaverse and AR makes the process a lot simpler than we think.

Mixed reality is a combination of VR and AR – both of which have standalone uses in the metaverse as well as when they are being used in tandem. Extended reality is considered extremely important for the growth of the metaverse because the technologies behind it allow for the metaverse to grow.

Conclusion

The metaverse is one of the most important innovations of our time. It has the potential to be one of the most powerful tools to build the world around us end up being a massive failure. While the concept of the [metaverse] has been around for a long time, work on it has only recently begun. As a result, it is still in its infancy with a lot of room to grow. The technology to support its growth is there but it will take time to mature. For now, it is not a fad but it is too early to consider it the future. The signs point in the right direction but we should wait to see where it goes.